THE

SERMON,
| DELIVERED AT

THE INAUGURATION

OF THE

REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D.

AS PROFESSOR OF DIDACTIC AND POLEMIC THEOLOGY,

^ IN THE

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,

IN

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED, THE

* PROFESSOR’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS,

AND

THE CHARGE
TO

THE PROFESSOR AND STUDENTS.

PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE ROARD OF DIRECTORS.

NEW-YORK:
PUBLISHED BY WHITING AND W ATSON, THEOLOGICAL A ND

CLASSICAL BOOKSELLERS, NO. 96, BROADWAY.

J. Seymour, printer.
—040—

1812.
Extract from the minutes of the Board of Directors of
the Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, at
Princeton, August 12th, 1812.

THE Directors of the Theological Seminary,

desirous of making known to the Christian public
the views and designs with which the Institution un¬
der their care has been founded, and is now openfoi
the reception of pupils; and believing that these
views and designs cannot be better explained, than
by the publication of the Discourses this day de¬
livered, at the Inauguration of the first Professor :
Resolved, that the thanks of this board be given
to the Directors and Professor who delivered those
Discourses, and that they be requested to furnish co¬
pies for the press.
Dr. Romeyn and Mr. Zachariah Lewis were ap¬
pointed a committee to superintend the printing, dis¬
tribution, and sale of the impression.
A true extract,
JOHN Me DOWELL, Seen/.
 THE

DUTY OF THE CHURCH

TO TAKE MEASURES FOR PROVIDING

AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY:

*
SERMON,
DELIVERED AT PRINCETON, AUGUST 12, lsi 2,

AT THE

INAUGURATION
OF THE

REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D.D.

AS PROFESSOR OF DIDACTIC AND POLEMIC THEOLOGY,

IN THE

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

BY

SAMUEL MILLER, j>. d.

PASTOR OE THE CHURCH IN WALL-STREET, NEW-YORK.
 THE

DUTY OF THE CHURCH,

8$c.

2 Tim. ii. 2.

And the things which thou hast heard of me, among many
witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who stmll
be able to teach others also.

The apostle Paul received both his knowledge

, of the Gospel, and his commission to preach it, im¬
mediately from the great Head of the church. Yet,
notwithstanding the extraordinary circumstances
which attended his theological instruction, and his
official investiture, that all things might he done de¬
cently and in order, he submitted to the laying on
of the hands of the Presbytery, before he went
forth on his great mission to the gentiles. In like
manner, Timothy, his own son in the faith, to whom
the exhortation before us is addressed, was set
apart to the work of the holy ministry, by the
Presbytery, in which body, on that occasion, the
Apostle himself seems to have presided*. Timothy
was now at Ephesus ; and being the most active

* Compare 1 Tim. iv. 14. with 2 Tim. i. 6.

 ( 8 )
and Influential member of the Presbytery which was
constituted in that part of the church, his spiritual
father directed to him, as such, and in him to the
church in all succeeding* times, the rules and in¬
structions contained in the Epistles which bear his
name. Among these we find the passage which
has just been read : And the things which thou hast
heard of me, among many witnesses, the same com¬
mit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach
others also.

It is impossible, within the limits of a single dis¬

course, to do justice to a portion of scripture
replete with such various and important matter,
as the slightest attention will discover in this
text. Of course, much of what properly belongs
to its illustration, must be either wholly omitted,
or very briefly noticed, on the present occasion.
That the Christian Ministry is an institution of
Jesus Christ; that this institution is essential, not
only to the well-being, but also to the very exis¬
tence of the church, as an organized body; that
Christ has promised that there shall always be a
succession of ministers in his church, to the end ot
the world; and that none have a right to enter on
the appropriate functions of this sacred office, with¬
out having that right formally and officially “ com¬
mitted” to them, by men who are themselves al¬
ready in the same office; are great, elementary
principles of ecclesiastical order, which are all fair-
 ( 9 )
ly implied in the passage before us; but which, I
trust, it is not necessary for me to attempt either
to establish or to illustrate before this audience.
They are so plainly laid down in scripture, and
so evidently reasonable in themselves, that I shall,
at present, take them for granted.

Neither will it be deemed necessary, at present,

to dwell on the numerous and important benefits of
an able and faithful ministry. It may be said, with¬
out exaggeration, that every interest of man is in¬
volved in this blessing. The order, comfort, and
edification of the church; the progress in know¬
ledge, the growth in grace, and the consolation of in¬
dividual believers; the regularity, peace, polish,
and strength of civil society; the extension of in¬
tellectual and moral cultivation; the glory of God;
and the eternal welfare of men; are among the
great benefits which an able and faithful ministry is,
ordinarily, the means of promoting; and which,
without such a ministry, we cannot hope to
attain, at least in any considerable degree. If it
be acknowledged that the sanctions of religion
exert a mighty, and most benign influence on the
order and happiness of society; if the observ¬
ance of the Christian sabbath be as really a blessing
to the world as it is to the church; if the solemni¬
ties of public worship, be a source of moral and
temporal benefit to millions, who give no evidence
of a saving acquaintance with the power of the
o
 ( 10 )
CJospel; if, the weekly instructions of the sanctua¬
ry have a native tendency to enlighten, refine, and
restrain, those whom they are not the means of con¬
verting 3 and if it please God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe; then, it is
evident, that an able and faithful ministry, next to
the sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit, is the
greatest benefit that can be conferred upon a people.
And if these great institutions of heaven, are iikely,
other things being equal, to be beneficial, in pro¬
portion to. the clearness, the force, the wisdom, and
the fidelity with which they are exhibited, as both
common sense and the word of God evidently dic¬
tate ; then it is plain, that the more able and the
more faithful that ministry, with which any people
is blessed, the more extensive and important are
likely to be the benefits resulting from it, both to the
church and the world* The father of a family, as
well as the professor of religion, has reason to de¬
sire the attainment of such a ministry. The patriot.,
as well as the Christian, ought earnestly to wish,
and be ready to contribute his aid, that the church
may obey the precept of her head and Lord : the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also.

I say, that the Church may obey this divine pre¬

cept ; for it is, undoubtedly, a mistake, and a very
grievous mistake, to imagine, as many seem to
imagine, that precepts of the kind before us, are
 ( 11 )
addressed to ministers alone. It is freely granted,
that ministers are the appointed agents for training
up those who are to succeed them in this holy vo¬
cation; and for imparting to them the official
powers, which they have themselves received. Yet
it is, unquestionably, in the name, and as the con¬
stituted executive and organ of that part of the
church which they represent, that they perform this
service. If, therefore, as I take for granted all will
allow, the design of the precept before us did not
cease with Timothy: if both its reason and its ob¬
ligation be permanent; then the church of Christ,
at this hour, is to consider it as directed to her. It
is the Church that is bound to take order, that what
she has reeeived be committed to faithful men, who
shall be able to teach others also,

The doctrine of our text, then, is, that it is

THE INDISPENSABLE DUTY OF THE CHURCH OF

Christ, in all ages, to take measures for

PROVIDING AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY.

The great fact, that this is the duty of the

Church, I shall consider as sufficiently established
by the plain and unequivocal precept before us;
and shall employ the time that remains for the pre¬
sent discourse, in inquiring.

What we are to understand by an able and faith¬

ful Ministry ? And,
 ( 12 )
What are the means ivhich the Church is bound
to employ for providing such a Ministry P

I. What are we to understand by an

ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY ?

It is a ministry, at once qualified and disposed to

perform, with enlightened and unwearied assiduity,
all the duties, whether of instruction, of defence, or
of discipline, which belong to ambassadors of
Christ, to pastors and rulers in his church.

This general character implies Piety, Ta¬

lents, Learning, and Diligence,

1. The first requisite to form a faithful and

able minister, is Piety. By this I mean, that he
be a regenerated man; that he have a living faith
in that Saviour whom he preaches to others; that
the love of Christ habitually constrain him; that
he have himself walked in those paths of humility,
self-denial, and holy communion with God, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, in which it is the business of
his life to endeavour to lead his fellow-men.

I shall not now speak of the necessity of piety,

to a minister’s personal salvation; nor of its ines¬
timable importance to his personal comfort. I shall
not dwell on the irksomeness, nay, the intolerable
 ( 13 )
drudgery, of labouring in a vocation in which the
heart does not go along; nor on the painful mis¬
givings which must ever attend preaching an un¬
known Saviour, and recommending untasted hopes
and joys. Neither shall I attempt to describe, tre¬
mendous and overwhelming as it is, the aggravat¬
ed doom of that man, who, from the heights of thi^
sacred office, shall sink into the abyss of the damn¬
ed ; who, after having preached to others, shall him-
self become a cast-away*. But my object is, to
show the importance, and the necessity, of this best
of all attainments, in order to qualify any man for
discharging the duties of the ministerial office. It
is to show, that, without piety, he cannot be an able
minister. He cannot be a workman, that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth, and giving to each his portion in due sea¬
son f

How can a man who knows only the theory

of religion, undertake to be a practical guide
in spiritual things? How can he adapt his in¬
structions to all the varieties of Christian ex¬
perience ? How can he direct the awakened, the
inquiring, the tempted, and the doubting ? How
can he feed the sheep and the lambs of Christ?
How can he sympathize with mourners in Zion ?
How can he comfort others with those consolations

* i Cor. ix, 27. f 2 Tim. ii. 15.

 ( 14 )
wherewith he himself has never been comforted of
God? He cannot possibly perform, as he ought,
any of these duties, and yet they are the most pre¬
cious and interesting parts of the ministerial work.
However gigantic his intellectual powers; how¬
ever deep, and various, and accurate his learning, he
is not able, in relation to any of these points, to teach
others, seeing he is not taught himself. If he make
the attempt, it will be the blind leading the blind;
and of this, unerring wisdom has told us the con¬
sequence*. It were rash, indeed, and unwarrant¬
ed, to say, that a man who knows nothing of the
power of godliness, may not be employed, by a
sovereign God, as the means of saving benefit to
others. God undoubtedly may, and probably some¬
times does, “ by way of miracle, raise a man to
life by the bones of a dead prophetf.” He may,
and, there is reason to believe sometimes does,
“ honour his own word so far as to make it effectu¬
al to salvation, even when it falls from unhallowed
lips.” The ministry even of Judas Iscariot was,
probably, not without its benefit to the church of
Christ. But such a result is not, in ordinary cases,
and certainly not in any considerable degree, to be
expected. When unsanctified ministers are intro¬
duced into the church, we may generally expect
them to prove, not only an offence to God, but also
a curse to his people. Piety, orthodoxy, practical

* Matt. xi. 15. t 2 Kings xiii. 21.

 ( IS )

holiness, and all the spiritual glories of the house¬

hold of faith, will commonly be found to decline
in proportion to the number and influence ot these
enemies in disguise.

And here I cannot help bearing testimony

against what appears to me a dangerous mistake;
which, though it may not be common, yet some¬
times occurs among parents and guardians of the
more serious class. I mean the mistake of destin¬
ing young persons to the Gospel Ministry, from a
very early period of life, before they can be suppos¬
ed, from any enlightened view of the subject, to
concur in the choice themselves; and before they
give any satisfactory evidence ot vital piety.
Brethren, I venerate the parent who desires, and
daily prays, that it may please God to prepare and
dispose his child, to serve him in the ministry of re¬
conciliation, Nay, I think that parent worthy of the
thanks of every friend to religion, who solemnly
devotes his child, even from the earliest period of
life, to the service of the church, and avowedly
conducts every part of his education with a view to
this great object; provided the original consecra¬
tion, and every subsequent arrangement, be made
on the condition, carefully and frequently expressed,
as well as implied, that God shall be pleased to
sanction and accept the offering, by imparting his
grace, and giving a heart to love, and desire the
Tacred work. But there is a wide difference be-
 ( 16 )

tween this, and resolving that a particular son shall

be a minister, in the same manner, and on the
same principles, as another is devoted to the medi¬
cal profession, or to the bar, as a respectable em¬
ployment in life; without recognizing vital piety,
-and the deliberate choice of the ministry, from re¬
ligious motives, as indispensable qualifications.
This kind of destination to the sacred office, is as
dangerous as it is unwarranted. Let the Christian
parent, however solemnly he may have devoted his
child to the work of the ministry, and however
fondly he may have anticipated his entrance on that
blessed work; if he find, at the proper age for de¬
ciding the question, no comfortable evidence of a
heart regenerated, and governed by the spirit of
grace ; let him deliberately advise;—though his
heart be wrung with anguish by the sacrifice;—let
him deliberately advise the choice of another pro¬
fession. When young men begin to enter the
gospel ministry, because they were early destined to
the office; because it is a respectable profession;
or because they wish to gratify parents and friends;
rather than because they love the office, and its
work, and have reason to hope that God has been
pleased to call them by his grace, and repeal his Son
in them* ; we may consider the ministry as in a
fair way to be made, in fact, a secular employment,

* Gal. i. 15, 16-

 ( 17 )

and the church a prostituted theatre for the schemes

and ambition of worldly men.

So deeply and vitally important is piety in

forming1 a faithful and able ministry; and so
often has it appeared to be forgotten, or, at least,
undervalued, amidst the brilliancy of more splen¬
did accomplishments; that there cannot be too
strict a guard placed on this point, both by public
sentiment, and by ministerial fidelity. Many very
excellent men, indeed, have felt a jealousy of Theo¬
logical Seminaries, as such, as if they were calcu¬
lated for training up learned and eloquent, rather
than pious ministers. Though I believe that this
jealousy has been sometimes indulged unjustly,
and often carried to an unwise and mischievous
extreme; and though there appears to me no other
' ground for it, than the melancholy fact, that the
best human institutions are liable to perversion arid
degeneracy; yet I cannot find in my heart to con¬
demn it altogether. Nay, I trust that a portion
of it will always be kept alive, as a guard,
under God, against the evil which it deprecates.
For I persuade myself that every minister of the
Presbyterian Church, in the United States, is ready
to adopt the language, with a little variation, of
that great and excellent man, who, for near thirty
years, adorned the American Church, and the pre¬
sidential chair of this College. “ Accursed be all
“ that learning which sets itself in opposition to
3
 ( 18 )

<* vital piety ! Accursed be all that learning which

“ disguises, or is ashamed of vital piety ! Accurs-
“ ed be all that learning, which attempts to fill the
“ place, or to supersede the honours, of vital piety!
“ Nay, accursed be all thatdearning, which is not
“ made subservient to the promotion and the glory
a of vital piety l*”

But piety, though it hold the first place among

essential qualifications here, is not all that is neces¬
sary. It is not every pious man, nay, not every fer¬
vently pious man, that is qualified to be a minister,
and far less an able minister. ■Another essential
requisite to form the character of such a minister,,
is,

2. Talents. By which I mean, not that

every able minister must, of necessity, be a man of
genius ; but that he must be a man of good sense ;
of native discernment and discretion; in other
words, of a sound respectable natural understand¬
ing.

When our blessed Lord was about to send forth

his first ministers, he said unto them ; Be ye wise as
serpents, as well as harmless as doves]. And, truly,
there is no employment under heaven, in which

* See Witherspoon's Sermon on glorying: in the cross of

Christ. X Matt. x. 16.
 ( » )
wisdom, practical wisdom, is so important, or ra-
ther, so imperiously and indispensably demand¬
ed, as in the ministry of reconciliation. A man
of a weak and childish mind, though he weie
pious as Gabriel,, can never make an able minister,
and he ought never to be invested with the office at
all: for with respect to a large portion of its duties,
he is utterly unqualified to perform them ; and he
is in constant danger of rendering both himself and
his office contemptible*

No reasonable man would require proof to con¬

vince him, that good sense is essential to form an
able physician, an affie advocate at the bar, oi an
able ambassador at a foreign court. Nor would
any prudent man entrust his property, his life, or
the interests of his country, to one who did not
bear this character. And can it be necessary to
employ argument, to show that interests, in com¬
parison with which, worldly property, the health of
the body, and even the temporal prosperity of na¬
tions, are all little things, ought not to be commit¬
ted to any other than a man of sound and respecta¬
ble understanding? Alas! if ecclesiastical judi¬
catories had not frequently acted, as if this were far
from being a settled point, it were almost an insult
to my audience to speak of it as a subject admitting
of a question.

Though a minister concentrated in himself all

 ( 20 )
the piety, and all the learning, of the Christian
church; yet if he had not at least a decent stock of
good sense, for directing and applying his other
qualifications, he would be worse than useless.
Upon good sense depends all that is dignified, pru¬
dent, conciliatory, and respectable in private de¬
portment; and all that is judicious, seasonable, and
calculated to edify, in public ministration. The
methods to be employed for winning souls, are so
many and various, according* to the taste, prejudi¬
ces, habits, and stations of men: a constant re¬
gard to time, place, circumstances, and character,
is so essential, if we desire to profit those whom we
address : and some tolerable medium of deport¬
ment, between moroseness and levity, reserve and
tattling, bigotry and latitudinarianism, lukewarm¬
ness and enthusiasm, is so indispensable to public
usefulness, that the man who lacks a respectable
share of discernment and prudence, had better, far
better, be in any other profession than that of a mi¬
nister*. An able minister he cannot possibly be.
Neither will any thing short of a sound judgment,
a native perception of what is fit and proper, or
otherwise, preserve any man who is set to teach and
to rule in the church, without a miracle, from those

* Though a Christian would have expressed himself in

different language, there is much weight in the maxim, of
the heathen satyrist, Nullum numen abest si sit /irudentiat
Juv„
 ( 21 )
perversions of scripture; those ludicrous absurdi¬
ties ; and those effusions of drivelling’ childishness,
which are calculated to bring the ministry and the
bible into contempt.

3. A third requisite to an able and faithful mi¬

nistry, is competent KNOWLEDGE. Without this,
both piety and talents united are inadequate to the
official work. JVav, without cultivation and dis-
cipline; without a competent store of facts and
principles, to regulate the mind, the stronger the
talents, the more likely are they to lead their pos¬
sessor astray, and to become the instruments of
mischief, both to himself and the church.

The first ministers of the gospel were divinely

inspired ; and, of course, had no need of acquiring
knowledge by the ordinary methods. They were
put in possession by miracle, and perhaps in a single
hour, of that information, which, now, can only be
gained by years of laborious study*. It were well
if this fact were remembered and weighed by those
who plead, that, as the gospel was first preached by
fishermen and tax-gatherers, so it may be as well

* There is no intention here to exclude daily, or frequent

conversations with our Lord, as one important means of in¬
struction which the apostles enjoyed. This, however, though
not, strictly speaking, a miraculous mode of acquiring know¬
ledge, was yet wholly extraordinary.
 ( 22 )
preached, at the present day, by persons of fervent
piety, and plain sense, who have never enjoyed any
greater advantages of scholastic learning, than the
apostles did. The supposed fact, which these vain
and ignorant pleaders assume, is utterly unfound¬
ed. The apostles were not an illiterate ministry.
They were the soundest, and best informed divines
that ever adorned the Christian church. So indis¬
pensable did it appear to infinite wisdom, that they
should be such, that they were thus accomplished
by the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
And we have reason to believe, that men, before un¬
learned, were chosen to be the subjects of this in¬
spiration, in preference to others, that the miracle
might be the more apparent; that it might be the
more clearly seen that the excellency of the power
was of God, and not of man*. Let this inspiration,
confirmed as it then was by miracle, be now pro¬
duced, and we will acknowledge it as more than an
adequate substitute for the ordinary method of ac¬
quiring knowledge, by books and study.

But if, as we all allow, the age of inspiration

and of miracle be long since past; and if it be
still necessary, notwithstanding, that the preachers
of the gospel possess, substantially, the same know¬
ledge that the apostles had; then, undoubtedly, it
is to be acquired in a different way from theirs, that

* 2 Cor. iv. 7.
 ( 23 )
is, by the diligent use of ordinary means. It mi¬
nisters must be apt to teach, as the Spirit of God has
declared*, they ought to be capable of teaching.
If the priest's lips ought to keep knowledgef, he cer¬
tainly ought to possess knowledge. And if Timo¬
thy, though he lived in the days of inspiration, and
was the immediate and favourite disciple of an in¬
spired man, was yet enjoined, by that very inspired
man, to give himself to reading, as well as to ex¬
hortation ,* to meditate upon these things, and to
give himself wholly to them, that his profiting might
appear to allJ j how much more necessary are si¬
milar means of acquiring knowledge, to those who
are called to labours of the same nature, and quite
as arduous, without possessing the same advanta-
ges!

But what kind, and what degree of intellectual

cultivation, and of acquired knowledge, may be
considered as necessary to form an able minister ol
Jesus Christ? That we may give a more enlight¬
ened answer to this question, let us inquire, what
such a minister is called, and must be qualified, to
perform ? He is, then, to be ready, on all occasions,
to explain the scriptures. This is his first and chief
work. That is, not merely to state and support the
more simple and elementary doctrine of the gospel;

* 1 Tim. iii. 2. and 2 Tim. ii, 24. t Malachi ii. 7.

i 1 Tim. iv. 13. 15.
 ( 24 )
but also to elucidate with clearness the various parts
of the sacred volume, whether doctrinal, historical,
typical, prophetic, or practical. He is to be ready
to rectify erroneous translations of sacred scrip-,
ture; to reconcile seeming' contradictions; to clear
up real obscurities; to illustrate the force and beau¬
ty of allusions to ancient customs and manners;
and, in general, to explain the word of God, as
i one who has made it the object of his deep and
successful study. He is set for the defence of the
gospel*; and, therefore, must be qualified to an¬
swer the objections of infidels; to repel the in¬
sinuations and cavils of sceptics; to detect, ex¬
pose, and refute the ever varying forms of heresy ;
and to give notice, and stand in the breach, when
men, ever so covertly or artfully, depart from the
faith once delivered to the saintsf He is to be rea¬
dy to solve the doubts, and satisfy the scruples of
conscientious believers ; to give instruction to the
numerous classes of respectful and serious inquirers;
to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all long suffer¬
ing and doctrineJ. He is to preach the gospel with
plainness, dignity, clearness, force, and solemnity. %/

And, finally, he is to perform his part in the judica¬

tories of the church, where candidates for the ho¬
ly ministry are examined and their qualifications
ascertained; where a constant inspection is main-

* P/iili/u i. 17. f Jude 3. | 2 Ti?n. iy. 2.

 ( 25 )

tained over the faith and order of the church j

where the general interests of Zion are discussed
and decided; and in conducting t:ie affairs of
which, legislative, judicial, and executive proceed-
bigs are all combined.

This is but a very brief and imperfect sketch of

what a minister is called to perform. Now, it is
evident that, in order to accomplish all this, with
even tolerable ability, a man must be furnished
with a large amount of knowledge. “ He must,”
(and on this subject I am happy in being able to
fortify myself with the judgment* and to employ,
for the most part, the language, of the General As¬
sembly of our church,) “ he must be well skilled
in the original languages of the holy Scriptures.
“ He must be versed in Jewish and Christian anti -
“ quities. He must have a competent acquaint*
“ ance with Ancient Geography, and Oriental Cits-
“ toms. He must have read and digested the
“ principal arguments and writings, relative to
“ what has been called the Deisticdl controversy .
“ He must have studied, carefully and correctly,
“ Natural Theology, together with Didactic Po~ ,
“ lemicy and Casuistic Divinity; and be able to
“ support the doctrines of the Gospel, by a ready,
“ pertinent, and abundant quotation of Scripture
“ texts for that purpose. He must have a consi-
“ derable acquaintance with general History and
“ Chronology ; and a particular acquaintance with
4
 ( 26 )
4‘ tlie history of the Christian Church. He must
“ have studied attentively the duties of the Pasto-
“ ral Office; the form of Church government au-
“ thorized by the scriptures; and the administra-
“ tion of it as practised in the protestant churches*.’*
He must have become well versed in Moral Philo¬
sophy, as an important auxiliary in studying man,
his constitution, the powers and exercises of his
depraved and sanctified nature, and his duties
thence arising. To all these, he must add, a re¬
spectable share of knowledge, in general Grammar ,
in Logic, Metaphysics, Natural Philosophy, Ma¬
thematical Science, Geography, Natural History,
and polite Literature.

Several of these branches of learning1 are, in-

deed, only auxiliary to the main body, if I may so
express it, of ministerial erudition. But they are
important auxiliaries. No man, it is true, can be
a complete master of them all; and it were crimi¬
nal in a minister to attempt so much. The time
requisite for this, must be taken from more impor¬
tant employments. Of some of these departments
of knowledge, general views are sufficient; and of
others, perhaps, an acquaintance with nomencla¬
tures and first principles ought to satisfy the theolo¬
gical pupil. But so much of them ought to be ac~

* Constitution of the Theological Seminary of the Presb\r

t'erian Church, Article 411>.
 ( 27 )

quired, as may enable their possessor the better to

understand the scriptures, and the better to defend
the gospel. 1 repeat it, every branch of knowledge
is helpful and desirable to the Christian minister.—
Not to enable him to shine, as a man of learn¬
ing : this were infinitely beneath the aim of an
ambassador of Christ: but to make him a more
accomplished and useful teacher of others. For
it is certain that the more he attains of real,
solid science, provided it be sanctified science, the
more clearly will he be able to explain the sacred
volume, and the more wisely and forcibly to preach
that Gospel which is the power of God unto salva¬
tion to every one that helieveth*.

4. Once more, it enters into the character of a

faithful minister, that he is active, diligent and
persevering in the discharge of his multiplied
and arduous duties. However fervent his piety;
however vigorous his native talents; and however
ample his acquired knowledge ; yet, if he be timid,
indolent, wavering, easily driven from the path of
duty, or speedily discouraged in his evangelical la¬
bours, he does, not answer the apostle’s description
of a faithful man. The minister who is, in any
good measure, entitled to this character, is one who
carefully studies to know, and to the best of his
knowledge, declares the whole counsel of God, with-

* Rom. 5. 15.
 ( a8 )
NOut fearing’ the frowns, or courting the smiles, of
men; who shrinks not from any self-denial, labour,
or danger to which the will of his Master, and the
interests of religion, evidently call him; who ab¬
hors the thought of sitting down in inglorious ease,
while thousands are perishing around him; who
does not allow himself to be diverted by secular or
minor objects from his grand work; who is instant
in season, and out of season, in all the diversified
and momentous labours of his holy vocation; and
the object of whose steady exertion, as well as su¬
preme desire, it is, that the church may be built
Up; that souls may be saved; and that Christ in
<3til things may be glorified*.

Such is a faithful and able minister. A minister

fervently pious; eminently wise, discerning, and
prudent; extensively learned, especially mighty
in the Scriptures; abounding and prevalent in pray¬
er ; a bold, energetic, instructive, experimental
preacher; a zealous, affectionate, condescending,
laborious pastor; a friend to revivals of religion;
a firm and persevering contender for the truth ; one,
in short, who devotes all his talents, all his learn¬
ing, all his influence, and all his exertions, to the one
grand object, fulfilling the ministry which he has
received of the Lord Jesus.

* 1 rctc.r iv. 1 h.
 ( 29 )

Such a minister, to select an example, was the

apostle Paul. With a heart warmed with the love
of Christ; with an understanding vigorous, sound,
and comprehensive; and with a store ot various
and profound knowledge, he went forth to meet
and to conciliate the enemies of his divine Master:
and in the course of his ministry, he manifested the
importance of every qualification with which that
Master had furnished him. Let us follow a id ob¬
serve him a little in the discharge of his ministe¬
rial labours. “ Now we see him reasoning with
“ Pagans, and then remonstrating with Jews : now
“ arguing from the law of nature, and then from
“ the Old Testament scriptures : now appealing to
“ the writings of heathen poets and philosophers,
“ and then referring to the traditions of the fathers,
“ of which he had been exceedingly zealous: now
“ stating his arguments with all logical exactness,
“ and then exposing the sophistry and false learn*
“ ing of his adversaries*now pleading with all
the majesty and pathos of unrivalled eloquence,
upon Mars-hilly aud before Felix a id iigrippa, and
then instructing, from house to house, the young
and the aged, with all the tenderness of a father, aud
all the simplicity and condescension of a babe.—■
And what was the consequence ? With these
qualifications, he laboured not only more abundant¬
ly, but more successfully, than all the apostles ; and

* Stennfitt’s Sermon before the Education Society, p, 12.

 ( 30 )
has probably been the means of richer blessings
to the church and the world, than any other mere
man that ever lived.

But you will, perhaps, ask, “ Ought all these

Ci qualifications to be considered as indispensable
u for every minister ? For example, ought no one
** to have the ministry * committed’ to him, unless
56 he have acquired, or be in a fair way to attain,
u the whole of those literary and scientific accom-
£< plishments which have been recounted as desire-
“ able ?” It is not necessary, perhaps it is not
proper, at present, to give a particular answer to
this question. My object has been to describe
able and faithful ministry. To my description I
am not conscious of having added any thing super¬
fluous or unimportant. Such a ministry it ought to
be the aim and the endeavour of the church to train
tip. Yet, it is certain that under the best adminis¬
tration of ecclesiastical affairs that ever existed,
since the days of the apostles, or that is ever likely
to exist, all ministers have not been aiike able and
faithful: and it is equally certain that cases have
occurred in which individuals with furniture for the
sacred office inferior to that which is desirable, have
been in a considerable degree, both respectable and
useful. But still a character something resembling
that which has been drawn, ought to be considered
as the proper standard, and exertions made to at¬
tain as near an approximation to it, in all cases, as
 < 31 )
possible. And after all that can be done, excep t
tions to a rigid conformity with this standard, will
be found in sufficient number, without undertaking
to lower the standard itself, in such a manner as'
to provide for their multiplication. But,

II. What are the means which the

Church is bound to employ, for providings

SUCH A MINISTRY ? This question was assigned

as the second subject of inquiry.

And here, it is perfectly manifest, that the

church can neither impart grace, nor create talents.
She can neither make men pious, nor give them in¬
tellectual powers. But is there, therefore, nothing
that can be done, or that ought to be done by her ?
Yes, brethren, there is much to be done. Though
Jehovah the Saviour has the government upon his
shoulder, his kingdom is a kingdom of means; and
He is not to be expected to work miracles to supply
©ur lack of exertion. If, therefore, the church
omit to employ the means which her iCing and Head
has put within her power, for the attainment ot a
given object, both the sin and the disgrace of fail¬
ing to attain that object, will lie at her own door.

What, then, are the means which the church is

bound to employ for providing an aide and faithful
ministry ? They are such as these: looking for*
and carefully selecting young men of piety and
 ( 32 )
talents, for the work of the ministry; providing
Eunds, for the temporary support of those who
may stand in need of such aid; furnishing a SE¬

MINARY, in which the most ample means of in,

struction may be found; and, having done all this,
to guard, by her judicatories, the entrance into
the sacred office, with incessant vigilance,

1. The Church is bound, with a vigilant eye, to

search for, and carefully to select, from among the
young men within her bosom, those who are endow¬
ed with piety and talents, whenever she can find
these qualifications united. Piety is humble and re¬
tiring ; and talents, especially of the kind best adapt¬
ed to the great work of the ministry, are modest
and unobtrusive. They require, at least in many
instances, to be sought out, encouraged, and brought
forward. And how, and by whom, is this to be
done ? The children of the church are, if I may
so express it, the church's properly. She has a
ri<rht to the services of the best of them. And as
it is the part, both of wisdom and affection, in pa¬
rents according to the flesh, to attend with vigi¬
lance to the different capacities and acquirements
of their children, and to select for them, as far as
possible, corresponding employments; so it is ob¬
viously incumbent on the Church, the moral parent
of all the youth within her jurisdiction, to direct
especial attention to such of them as may be fitted
to serve her in the holy ministry. And it may be
 ( 33 )
asserted, without fear of contradiction, that when¬
ever young men are found, who unite fervent piety,
with talents adapted to the office, it is the duty of
such to seek the gospel ministry; and it is the du¬
ty of the church to single them out, to bring them
forward, and to endeavour to give them all that
preparation, which depends on human means, for
the service of the sanctuary.

2. The church is bound to provide funds for the

partial or entire support of those who need this kind
of aid, while they are preparing for the work of the
ministry. Some of the most promising candidates
for this holy work have not the means of support¬
ing themselves, while they withdraw from the
world, and give up its emoluments, for the purpose
of becoming qualified to serve God in the Gospel
of his Son. These persons must either abandon
their sacred enterprise altogether, or receive, from
some other source, adequate aid. And from what
source can they so properly receive it, as from their
moral parent, the Church ? Nature, reason, equity,
parental affection,—all conspire in pointing to this
parent, as the most suitable provider. The aid
which flows only from the hand of individual
and occasional bounty, may be withdrawn, or
grudgingly continued: but the church can never
be weary, as long as ability is given her,
of providing for her beloved children. The aid
which individuals, as such, furnish, may excite, in
5
 ( -84 )
delicate minds, a painful sense of dependence : but
children ought to feel, can feel, no pain in receiving
from the hand of parental affection.

Nor is it any valid objection to the furnishing of

this aid, that the objects of it may not always be
found, when their character shall be completely de¬
veloped, either ornaments to the church, or worthy
of so much exertion and expenditure. As well
might parents according to the flesh decline to pio-
vide for the support and education of their children,
in early life, lest peradventure they might after¬
wards prove neither a comfort nor an honour to
them. In this respect every faithful parent consi¬
ders himself as bound, in duty and affection, to
take all possible pains for promoting the welfare of
his offspring, and having done so, to leave the
event with God.

Neither ought the church to consider this provi¬

sion as a burden, or imagine that, in making it, she
confers a favour. It is as clearly her duty—a duty
which she as really owes both to her Master and her¬
self, as the ordinary provision which she makes for
the support of the word and ordinances. Oi la¬
ther, it is to be lamented that she has not been ac¬
customed always to consider it, as an essential part
of her ordinary provision for the maintenance of
the means of grace.
 ( 35 )
3. A further, and the last mean which I shall
mention, which the church is bound to employ for
providing an able and faithful ministry, is, furnish¬
ing a Seminary in which the candidatesfor this office
may receive the most appropriate and complete in¬
In
struction, which she has it in her power to give.
vain are young men of fervent piety, and the best
talents, sought after and discovered; and in vain
are funds provided for their support, while prepar¬
ing for the ministry, unless pure and ample foun¬
tains of knowledge are opened to them, and unless
competent guides are assigned, to direct them in
drinking at those fountains. This, however, is so
plain, so self-evident, that I need not enlarge upon
its proof.

But perhaps it may be supposed by some, that

there is no good reason why these means of educa¬
tion should be provided by the Church, as such. It
may be imagined, that they will be as likely to be
provided, and as well provided, by private instruct¬
ors, as by public Seminaries. But all reason, and
all experience, pronounce a different judgment, and
assign, as the ground of their decision, such con¬
siderations as these.

First, when the Church herself provides a Semi¬

nary for the instruction of her own candidates for
the ministry, she can at all times inspect and regu¬
late the course of their education; can see that it
 /

( 36 )
be sound, thorough, and faithful; can direct and
control the instructors ; can correct such errors,
and make such improvements in her plans of in¬
struction, as the counsels of the whole body may
discover. Whereas, if all be left to individual dis¬
cretion, the preparation for the service of the
church may be in the highest degree defective, or
ill-judged, not to say unsound, without the church
being able effectually to interpose her correcting
hand.

Again; when the Church herself takes the in¬

struction of her candidates into her own hands,
she can furnish a more extensive, accurate, and com¬
plete course of instruction than can be supposed to
be, ordinarily, within the reach of detached indi¬
viduals. In erecting and endowing a Seminary,
she can select the best instructors out of her whole
body. She can give her pupils the benefit of the
whole time, and the undivided exertions, of these
instructors. Instead of having all the branches of
knowledge, to which the theological student ap¬
plies himself, taught by a single master, she can
divide the task of instruction, among several com¬
petent teachers, in such a manner as to admit of
each doing full justice both to his pupils and him¬
self. She can form one ample Library, by which a
given number of students may be much better ac¬
commodated, when collected together, and having
access to it in common, than if the same amount of
 ( 37 )
books were divided into a corresponding number of
smaller libraries. And she can digest, and gradu¬
ally improve a system of instruction, which shall
be the result of combined wisdom, learning, and
experience. Whereas those candidates for the sa¬
cred office, who commit themselves to the care of
individual ministers, selected according to the con¬
venience or the caprice of each pupil, must, in ma¬
ny cases, at least, be under the guidance of in¬
structors who have neither the talents, the learning,
nor the leisure to do them justice; and who have
not even a tolerable collection of books, to supply
the lack of their own furniture as teachers.

Further; when the Church herself provides the

means of instruction for her own ministry, at a
public seminary, she will, of course, be furnished
with ministers who have enjoyed, in some measure,
a uniform course of education ; who have derived
their knowledge from the same masters, and the
same approved fountains, and who may, therefore,
be expected to agree in their views of evangelical
truth and order. There will thus be the most ef¬
fectual provision made, speaking after the manner
of men, for promoting the unity and peace of the
church. Whereas, if every candidate for the holy
ministry, be instructed by a different master, each
of whom may be supposed to have his peculiarities
of expression and opinion, especially about minor
points of doctrine and discipline, the harmony of our
 ( 38 )
ecclesiastical judicatories will gradually be impair¬
ed ; and strife, and perhaps eventually, schism,
may be expected to arise in our growing and happy
church.

It is important to add, that when the Church pro¬

vides for educating a number of candidates for the
ministry at the same seminary, these candidates
themselves may be expected to be of essential ser¬
vice to each other. Numbers being engaged to¬
gether in the same studies, will naturally excite the
principle of emulation. As iron sharpenetli iron,
so the amicable competition, and daily intercourse
of pious students, can scarcely fail of leading to
closer and more persevering application ; to deeper
research; to richer acquirements; and to a more
indelible impression of that which is learned, upon
their minds, than can be expected to take place in
solitary study.

Nor is it by any means unworthy of notice, that,

when the ministers of a church are generally train¬
ed up at the same seminary, they are naturally led
to form early friendships, which bind them together
to the end of life, and which are productive of that
... •

mutual confidence and assistance, which can scarce¬

ly fail of shedding a benign influence on their per¬
sonal enjoyment, and their official comfort and use¬
fulness. These early friendships may also be ex¬
pected to add another impulse to a sense of duty,
 ( 39 )

in annually drawing ministers from a distance to

meet each other in the higher judicatories of the
church; and, which is scarcely less important, to
facilitate and promote that mutual consultation, res¬
pecting plans of research, and new and interesting
publications, which is, at once, among the safe¬
guards, as well as pleasures, of theological author¬
ship.

These, brethren, are some of the considerations

which call upon every church, to erect, and to sup¬
port with vigour and efficiency, a Theological Semi¬
nary for the training of her ministry. If she de¬
sires to augment the number of her ministers; if
she wishes their preparation for the sacred office to
be the best in her power to give, and at the least
possible expense ; if she desires that they may be
a holy phalanx, united in the same great views of
doctrine and discipline, and adhering with uni¬
formity and with cordial affection to her public
standards ; if she deprecates the melancholy spec¬
tacle of a heterogeneous, divided, and distracted
ministry : and finally, if she wishes her ministers
to be educated under circumstances most favoura¬
ble to their acting in after life, as a band of breth¬
ren, united in friendship as well as in sentiment;
then let her take measures for training them up un¬
der her* own eye, and control; under the same
teachers ; in the same course of study ; and under
all those advantages of early intercourse, and af-
 ( 40 )

fectionate competition, which attend a public semi¬

nary.

In favour of all this reasoning, the best experi¬

ence, and the general practice of the church, in
different ages, may be confidently urged. “ It has
“ been the way of God,” says the pious and learn¬
ed Dr. Light foot, “ to instruct his people by a
u studious and learned ministry, ever since he
“ s ave a written word to instruct them in.” “ Who,”
he asks, “ were the standing ministry of Israel, all
“ the time from the giving of the law, till the cap-
“ tivity in Babylon ? Not prophets, or inspired
“ men; for they were but occasional teachers ; but
“ the Priests and Levites, who became learned in
“ the law by study. Deuteronomy xxxiii. 10.
“ Ilosea iv. 6. Malachi ii. 7. And for this end,
“ they were disposed into forty eight cities, as so
“ many universities, where they studied the law to-
“ gether ; and from thence were sent out into the
« several synagogues, to teach the people.” They
had also, the same writer informs us, “ contributions
“ made for the support of these students, while they
“ studied in the universities, as well as afterwards
“ when they preached in the synagogues." He tells
us further, in another place, “ that there were
u anionsr the Jews, authorized individual teachers,
“ of great eminence, who had their 3Iidrashoth, or
“ Divinity Schools, in which they expounded the
law to their scholars or disciples.” 44 Of these
 ( 41 )
“ Divinity Schools,” he adds, “ there is very frfe-
t( quent mention made among the Jewish writers,
“ more especially of the schools of Hillel and
** Sfiammai. Such a Divinity Professor was Gama-
“ liel, at whose feet, the great Apostle of the gen-
“ tiles received his education*.”

Under the Christian dispensation, the same sys¬

tem, in substance, was adopted and continued. At
a very early period, there was a seminary of high
reputation established in the city of Alexandria, in
which candidates for the holy ministry were train¬
ed up together, and under the ablest instructors,
both in divine and human learning; a seminary in
which Pantcenus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, and
others, taught with high reputation. Eusebius and
Jerome both declare, that this seminary had exist¬
ed, as a nursery of the church, and had enjoyed a
succession of able teachers, from the time of Mark
the evangelistf. Writers on Christian antiquities
also assure us that there were seminaries of a simi¬
lar kind very early established at Rome, Ceesarea,
Antioch, and other places^; and that they were
considered as essential to the honour and prosperi¬
ty of the church.

* Lightfoot’s Works, vol. I. 357. 574.

| Euseb : Lib. v. c. 10. Hieron. Oper. i. 105.
t Seo Eivg/ia?n’$ Origines Ecclesiasticx. Book hi. Chaf)/ "*v. x

f>
 ( 42 ) '

At tlie period of the reformation, religion and

learning revived together. The Reformers were
not less eminent for their erudition, than for their
piety and zeal. They contended earnestly for an
enlightened, as well as a faithful ministry; and, ac¬
cordingly, almost all the protestant churches, when
they found themselves in a situation to admit of the
exertion, founded Theological Seminaries, as nur¬
series for their ministry. This was the case in Ge¬
neva, in Scotland, in Holland, in Germany, and,
with very little exception, throughout reformed
Christendom. And the history of those seminaries,
while it certainly demonstrates, that such establish¬
ments are capable of being perverted; demon¬
strates, with equal evidence, that they have been
made, and might always, with the divine blessing
on a faithful administration, be rendered exten¬
sively useful.

And what have the most eminently pious and

learned ministers, that ever adorned the American
church, thought on this subject? Let yonder ve¬
nerable walls tell! Yes, brethren, it was because
Tennent and Dickinson, and Burr, and Edwards,
and Davies, and Finley, and Blair, and other
champions of the cross, were deeply impressed
with the truth, that learning and talents, united with
piety, are of the highest importance to the Christian
ministry, that they laboured and prayed so much
for the establishment and support of Nassau-Half
 ( 43 )

May their spirit and their opinions revive; anti

more and more pervade our church, until the dawn-
ing of the Millennial Sabbath!

In establishments of this kind, in more recent

times, our congregational brethren, in New-Eng-
land, and our brethren of the Dutch and Associate
Reformed churches, have gone before us, and set us
noble examples. We have, at length, awoke from
our sleep; and with tardy, but, as we hope, with
firm, with well-advised, and with heaven-directed
steps, have begun to follow them. In the name of
Jehovah Jesus, the king of Zion, we lift up our
banner! May his blessing descend, and rest upon
the transaction of this day, as a pledge that he is
about to visit our church in his abundant mercy!

4. The last means of providing an able and

faithful ministry, on which I shall insist, is fidelity
on the part of the Judicatories of the church in
guarding the entrance into the sacred office. It is
our happiness, that, according to the truly apostolic
and primitive constitution of our church, the power
of licensing candidates, and of setting apart to the
work of the holy ministry, is not given to any in¬
dividual, by whatever name he may be called. Nay,
while the church provides a seminary for the in¬
struction of her candidates for the sacred office, she
does not give even to the conductors of that semi-
nary, however pious, learned, or venerable, the
 ( 44 )

right ultimately to judge of the qualifications of

those candidates, and to admit or reject them at
their pleasure. This is the prerogative of her ap¬
propriate judicatories; and the manner in which
it is exercised, is all-important. However vigi¬
lantly and perseveringly other means for at¬
taining the object proposed, may be employed,
if there be a failure here, the most calamitous con¬
sequences may be expected. If presbyteries be
superficial in their examinations of candidates; if
they be too ready to lay hands on the weak, the igno¬
rant, the erroneous, or those of doubtful piety ; or
if, for the sake of attaining an occasional purpose,
or meeting a temporary difficulty, they at any time
suffer the barriers which have been erected for ex¬
cluding the incompetent or the unworthy, to be
removed or trampled down, they are taking the di¬
rect course to bring the ministry and religion into
contempt.

I know that, on this subject, pleas are often urg¬

ed which it is extremely difficult to resist. Some
good qualities in the candidates; private friend¬
ships ; an unwillingness to give pain ; the scarcity
of ministers ; and the necessities of the church, are
all alternately employed as arguments for the ad¬
mission of unsuitable characters into the ministry.
But it is a most important part of fidelity in the
work of the Lord, to oppose and reject every plea
of this kind. Private friendships ought not to in*-
 ( 46 )
terfere with a supreme regard to the Redeemer’s
kingdom. It is better, much better, to inflict pain
for a time, on an individual, than to wound the
church of Christ, And by introducing into the
ministry those who are neither faithful, nor able to
teach, judicatories are so far from supplying the
wants of the church, that they rather add to her
difficulties, and call her to struggle with new evils.
To be in haste to multiply and send out unqualified
labourers, is to take the most direct method to send
a destructive blast on the garden of God, instead of
gathering a rich and smiling harvest.

On the other hand, when judicatories, with

enlightened vigilance, and fidelity, guard the en¬
trance into the sacred office; when they exert the
authority committed to them, to keep out of the
ministry, incompetence, heresy, levity, and worldly
mindedness; they obey a divine precept; they support
the real honour of the gospel ministry; they con¬
strain those who are looking toward that blessed
work, to take a higher aim, and to seek for higher
attainments; they give the churches bread instead
of a stone, and fish instead of a serpent; and
though they may appear, to those who make haste,
to be tardy in supplying the public demand for mi¬
nisters, they are taking one of the most effectual
methods, under God, for raising up a numerous, as
well as an able and faithful ministry.
 ( 46 )
Let us now turn our attention to some practical
inferences from the foregoing discussion. And,

1. If the representation which has been given

be just, then our church has been, for a lony timef
almost entirely, and very criminally, neyliyent of a
yreat and important duty. While she has directed
much laudable attention to other objects, she has, in
a great measure, suffered the most promising means
of providing an able and faithful ministry, to take
care of themselves. Other churches have also
been guilty, in a considerable degree, of similar
negligence; a negligence for which, alas! our
country mourns; and would mourn much more, if
the importance of the subject were understood and
appreciated as it ought to be; but our church
HAS BEEN PRE-EMINENTLY GUILTY ! Though
among the largest Christian denominations in the
United States; though possessing, in its individual
members, perhaps more wealth than any other;
though favoured, in many respects, with ample
means for every kind of generous ecclesiastical
enterprise; and though often and solemnly warned
on the subject; she has yet been among the very
last of all the evangelical denominations among us,
to commence a course of efficient exertion for rais¬
ing up a qualified ministry. We have slumbered,
and slumbered, until the scarcity of labourers in
our harvest, has become truly alarming! God
grant that we may testify by our future conduct,
that we remember, with unfeigned humiliation, our
former negligence \ and that we are resolved, as
his orace shall enable us, to make amends for it,
by redoubled zeal and diligence in time to come!

2. From what has been said, it appears, that

the solemnity to attend on which we are this day
assembled, is a matter of cordial and animating con-
gratulation to each other, and to the church of
Christ in the United States. We are convened,
under the authority of the General Assembly of our
church, to organize a theological seminary,
and to inaugurate the first professor in that
seminary. Though later, much later, in commenc¬
ing this establishment than we ought to have been;
we trust it is about to commence under the smiles
of the great Head of the Church ; and that we may
confidently regard it as a token for good to the Re¬
deemer’s kingdom, Yes, brethren, we have more
reason to rejoice, and to felicitate one another, on
the establishment of this seminary, than on the
achievement of a great national victory, or on mak¬
ing a splendid addition to our national territory.
It is the beginning, as we trust, of an extensive and
permanent system, from which blessings may flow
to millions while we are sleeping in the dust. Let
us, then, rejoice and be exceeding glad; and in
the midst of our joy, let us look up to the Source
of blessing, who can cause the walls of our Zion
 ( 48 )
to rise even in troublous times*. While we con¬
gratulate each other, let our petitions ascend, with
our praises, to the throne of grace, that the semina¬
ry this day established, and, as we verily believe,
founded in faith and prayer, may be a fountain, the
streams of which shall make (jlad the city oj our
God; flowing in every direction, and abundantly
watering the abodes of /Aon s king, until all flesh
shall taste his love, and see his glory!

3. If what has been said be correct, then those

who are more immediately charged with conducting
this seminary, whether as Directors or 1 jofcssois,
ought to consider themselves as honoured with a very
solemn and weighty trust. The design ot the su¬
preme Judicatory of our church, in founding this
seminary, is nothing less than to tram ap an able
and FAITHFUL ministry ; a ministry on whose
piety, talents, and learning, the temporal and etern¬
al welfare of thousands, now living, may, speaking
after the manner of men, depend; a ministry,
whose character may have a commanding influ¬
ence, in forming the character of others, and they
again of those who may successively fill the same
office, until the end of time ! The design is inter¬
esting beyond expression ; and the task ol those

* War had been declared, by the United States, against

Great-Britain, a few weeks before this discourse was deli¬

vered.
 < 49 )
who are appointed to carry it into execution, is se¬
rious and important to a decree which mortals can¬
not estimate. When I cast an eye down the ages
v of eternity, and think how important is the salvation
of a single soul; when I recollect how important,
of course, the office of a minister of the gospel,
who may be the happy instrument of saving many
hundreds, or thousands of souls; and when I remem¬
ber how many and how momentous are the relations,
which a Seminary intended solely for training up
ministers, bears to all the interests of men, in the
life that now is, and especially in that which is to
come; I feel as if the task of conducting such a
Seminary, had an awfulness of responsibility con¬
nected with it, which is enough to make us tremble !
O my fathers and brethren! let it never be said of
us, on whom this task has fallen, that we take more
< pains to make polite scholars, eloquent orators, or
men of mere learning, than to form able and faith-
fid ministers of the New Testament. Let it never
be said, that we are more anxious to maintain the
literary and scientific honours of the ministry, than
we are to promote that honour which consists in
being full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and the
instruments of adding much people to the Lord,
The eyes of the church are upon us. The eyes of
angels, and, above all, the eyes of the King of
Zion, are upon us. May we have grace given us
to be faithful!

7
 ( so )
4, This subject suggests matter for very serious
reflection to the Youth, who are about to enter as
students in this seminary, with a view to the gospel
ministry. Behold, my young friends, the high cha¬
racter at which you are called to aim! You have
come hither, not that you may prepare to shine;
not that you may prepare to amuse men by philoso¬
phic discussion, or to astonish them by flights ot
artificial eloquence: but that, by the blessing of
God, upon the use of means, you may become
faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also ;
that you may become wise in winning souls to
Christ; that you may prepare to go forth, defend¬
ing and proclaiming the messages of grace to
guilty men, and persuading them to be reconciled to
God. Seek to excel. It is noble to excel. But
let it be always for the edifying of the church.
This, my young friends, this is the object which
is recommended to your sacred emulation. We
charge you, in the presence of God, to let all your
studies and aims be directed to this grand object.
Seek with humble, persevering, prayerful diligence,
to be such ministers as you have heard described ;
and you will neither disappoint yourselves, nor the
Church of Christ. Seek to be any thing else ; and
you will be a grief and a curse to both. May God
the Saviour bless you, and prepare you to be work¬
men that need not be ashamed !

5. From this subject we may derive powerful

 ( 51 )

excitements to young men of piety and talents, to

come forward and devote themselves to the Gospel
Ministry. We trust no young man will ever think
of that holy vocation, until he has iirst given him¬
self up a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God, by Jesus Christ. We would not, for any
consideration, bo accessory to the sin of alluring
into the sacred office, those who know nothing of
the power of godliness, and who, on the most fa¬
vourable supposition, can be nothing better than
miserable retailers of cold and unproductive specu¬
lations. But while we say this, and repeat it, with
all the emphasis of which we are capable, we asseit,
with equal confidence, on the other hand, that whei-
ever fervent piety appears, in any young man, united
with those talents which are adapted to the office
of an ambassador of Christ, it is incumbent on their
possessor, without delay, to devote himself to the
work of the ministry. There are only two ques¬
tions which need be asked concerning any youth
on this subject. “ Has he a heart for the work ?
« And has he those native faculties, which are sus-
“ ceptible of the requisite cultivation?” If these
questions can be answered in the affirmative, I
hesitate not to say, that in the present state of
the church, it is his duty to seek the ministry.
Young men of this College! have none of you any
desire to serve your fellow men, and to serve Christ,
in this exalted office ? Y ou have but one short life
to live in this world\ and you must, in a very little
 ( 52 )

time, decide how you will spend that life. “ We

confidently pronounce, that it can be spent in no
manner so desirable, so noble, so godlike, as in the
gospel ministry. If then, you love the Lord Jesus
Christ, come we affectionately invite you to come,
and take part with us in the ministry of the grace
of God. The example of Christ invites you to
come; the tears of bereaved Churches, who can
find none to break unto them the bread of life, en¬
treat you to come; the miseries of wandering souls
who find none to lead them to heaven, plead with
yon to come. Come, then, and take part with us
in the labours and rewards of the ministry of re¬
conciliation ! *’*

0. Finally, if the representation which has been

given be correct, then the Church at large ought to
consider it as equally their privilege and their duty
to support this Seminary. If one may judge by
the language and the conduct of the generality of
our church-members, they seem to consider all re¬
gard to institutions of this kind, as the province of
ministers only. They readily grant, that ministers
ought to be prompt and willing, to give their time,
their labours, and, where they have any, their sub¬
stance, for this end; but for themselves, they pray
to be excused. They either contribute nothing to-

* See Address of the Presbytery of JYeiv-York, on educat¬

es poor and pious youth for the gospel ministry. 14.
 ( 53 )
ward the object; or contribute in the most reluctant
and sparing manner, as if they were bestowing a
Javour, which they have a perfect right to withhold.
IVTy deai brethren, it is difficult to express in ade¬
quate terms either the sin or the folly of such
conduct. Seminaries of this kind are to be found¬
ed and supported by the church, as such. It
is THE church that is bound to take order on the
subject. It is THE CHURCH that is responsible
tor their establishment and maintenance. And if
any of her members, or adherents, when called
upon, will not contribute their just portion of aid
for this purpose, the Head of the church will
require it at their hands. Professing Christians!
look upon the alarming necessities of the church;
upon destitute frontier settlements; upon several
hundred vacant congregations, earnestly desiring
spiritual teachers, but unable to obtain thenT,
Look upon the growing difficulty, with which the
most eligible and attractive situations in the church
are supplied ; and then say whether those who still
remain idle can be innocent? Innocent! Their
guilt will be greater and more dreadful than can be
described. Come, then, brethren, humbled by the
past, and animated by the future, rouse from your
lethargy, and begin to act in earnest! Your mas¬
ter requires it of you! The aspect of the times re¬
quires it of you ! The cries of the neglected and
(heperishing require it of you! Your own privi-
 ( 54 )
leges and blessings require it of you! \ es, ye who
call yourselves Christians ! If you love the church
to which you profess to belong: if you possess a
single spark of the spirit of allegiance to her Di¬
vine Head and Lord : nay, if you desire not a fa¬
mine of the word of life; if you desire not the
heaviest spiritual judgments to rest upon you, then
come forward, and act, as well as speak, like tiiends
of the Redeemer’s kingdom. Come forward, and
give your influence, your substance, and youi plac¬
ers, for the help of the Lord against the mighty.
Amen !

* Judges v. 23.
 AN

INAUGURAL, DISCOURSE,

DELIVERED IN THE

CHURCH AT PRINCETON, NEW-JERSEY,

IN THE PRESENCE OE THE

DIRECTORS OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,

ON

THE I2tli OF AUGUST, 1810.

BY

ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D.
 AN

INAUGURAL DISCOURSE,
8$c.

Highly respected and venerable Directors op Th%

Theological School; and other learned and res¬
pectable Auditors, convened on the present so*
LEMN OCCASION !

The institution and commencement of a Theo¬

logical Seminary, under the patronage and direction
of the General Assembly of our church, ought to be
a subject ot mutual congratulation to all its mem¬
bers. But it cannot be CO' cealed, that the same
causes which have operated to render such an in¬
stitution urgently necessary, have also opposed seri¬
ous obstacles in the way of carrying it into effect.
The deficiency, among us, of that kind and extent
of learning requisite to confer dignity and respect,
as well as usefulness, on the professor’s chair, is too
obvious to require remark. But every important
institution must have its infancy and growth, before
it can arrive at maturity; and however long we
might have deferred this undertaking, the same
difficulties would probably have met us at its com¬
mencement, which we are now obliged to encoum
ter. The sentiments and emotions by which my
8
 ( 58 )
own mind is agitated, in consequence of the new
and important station in which I find myself pla¬
ced by the choice of my brethren, and especially,
the deep sense which I entertain of my insufficien¬
cy for the work, I shall not attempt to express. If
the design be of God, he will prosper the undertak¬
ing, notwithstanding the weakness of the instru¬
ments employed in carrying it on ; and will crown
our feeble efforts with success. On Him therefore
may our hope and confidence be firmly fixed ; and
mav ‘ his will be done on earth as in heaven!
•/

I have selected, as the subject of the discourse

now required ot me, the words ot our Lord, re¬
corded in the 5th Chap, and 39th ver. of the Gos¬
pel according to John:

w y^a^as. Search the Scriptures.

The verb here used, signifies, to search with dili¬

gence and attention. Its literal meaning appears
• /»

to be, to pursue any one, by tracing his lootsteps.

Thus it is employed by Homer to express the li¬
on’s* pursuit of the man who had robbed him of
his whelps, by his footsteps; and the dog’sf pursuit
of his game, by his track. The precise meaning
of the word, therefore, both in its literal and figu¬
rative application, is expressed by the English

. * IU xviii. line 321. t Odys. xix. 1. 436.

 f 59 )
word, investigate. It may be read, either in the
indicative, or in the imperative mood. Doctor
Campbell, in his new translation of the Gospels,
prefers the former, and renders the passage, “ Ye
do search the Scriptures but Wetsteiu and Park-
hurst consider it to be in the imperative, agreeably
to our version: and certainly this rendering gives
more point and force to the sentence, “ search the
scriptures, for in them ye think ye have life, but they
are they which testify of me.”

Although the word, scriptures, is of such

general import, as to include writings of any kind;
yet there can be no doubt but what the Scrip¬
tures of the Old Testament were here intended.
This phrase is used in the New Testament, as we
use the word Bible, which, though literally signi¬
fying any book, yet is now appropriated to desig¬
nate the volume of inspiration.

The history of the origin of alphabetical writing

is involved in considerable obscurity. The first
notice whi cli we find of the existence of such an
art, is contained in the command given to Moses
in the xvii. of Exodus, to write a certain transac¬
tion in a book* : and soon afterwards, we read
that the law was written by the finger of Jeho¬
vah, on the two tables of testimony)*. To me, it

* Exodus xvii, !4.1SD3 fVttl fWl DfD f Exodus xxxiv.

 ( 60 )
appears very probable, therefore, that it was about
this time a subject of revelation to Moses. As a
precise pattern of the tabernacle was shown to him
in the mount, and as certain persons were inspired
with wisdom to fit them for the execution of that
work, why may we not suppose that this wonderful
art, so necessary for recording the revelations re¬
ceived from God, for the use of posterity, was al¬
so made known to Moses P One thing is certain
that all the alphabets of the western portion ot the
globe, and probably those of the eastern also, have
had a common origin: and we have no authentic
account of the invention of an alphabet by any
people; so that whenever this art of writing may
have had its origin, I am persuaded it was no in¬
vention of man, but a revelation from God.

With respect to the antiquity of these writings, I

know of none which can bear any competition
with the Pentateuch. Some, indeed, have suppos¬
ed, that some part of the Vedas of the Brahmins,
was written before the books of Moses ; but there
is no historical evidence on which we can depend
in support of this opinion. And we are too well
acquainted with the fraudulent pretensions of the
Hindoos to antiquity, to place any confidence in
their assertions. The ultimate opinion of that
incomparable scholar, Sir 11 illiam Jones, on this
subject, was, that the writings of Moses were the
 ( 61 )
oldest of any in the world*: and a more compe¬
tent and impartial judge could not easily be found.

As the words of the text are indefinite, they

should be considered as imposing an obligation on
all sorts of persons, according to their ability and
opportunity, to search the scriptures. We cannot
1h lp therefore being struck with the impiety, as well
as absurdity, of the practice of the Papists, in with¬
holding the scriptures from the people.

Will it be said, that when they misinterpret and

peivert them, they should be taken away? But
such was the conduct of the persons here address¬
ed by Christ. They were so blinded by prejudice,
that they could not perceive in the scriptures, that
person, who was the principal subject of them.
But does the divine Saviour forbid them the use of
the scriptures, on this account? No; he enjoins it
on them, to search them. To study them with
moie caie, and with minds more free from preju¬
dice.

Though the duty of searching the scriptures is

common to all Christians, yet there are some on
whom it is more peculiarly incumbent. Teachers
of leligion, and candidates for the sacred office,
ate bound by an obligation of uncommon force to
attend to this duty. In particular relation to such,

See Asiatic Researches, vol. 1 and 2.

 • ( 62 )
I propose to consider the subject, in the sequel of
this discourse. But before I proceed further, I
would observe, that although the words of our
Lord, in the text, refer to the Old Testament, (for at
the time of their being spoken there were no other
scriptures extant,) yet the reason of the command
will apply with full force, to other inspired writings,
as soon as they are promulgated. We shall there¬
fore consider the scriptures of the New Testament?
as well as the Old, embraced within the scope of
our Saviour’s command.

It will be important to bear in mind, that there

are two distinct things comprehended in the object
of this investigation. First, to ascertain that the
scriptures contain the truths of God : and, second¬
ly, to ascertain what these truths are.

Let us now suppose the two volumes containing

the Old and New Testaments, the one in the origi¬
nal Hebrew, the other in the Greek, to be put into
the hands of the theological student, accompanied
with the command of Christ, search the scriptures.
Investigate these volumes with diligence. What
should be the first step in this investigation ? Ought
he not to be well satisfied of the identity of these
books, with those which formerly existed ? Here
is a Hebrew volume; but does it contain the same
writings to which our Saviour referred? And
does this Greek volume comprehend the very
 ( 68 )
books which were received as inspired in the Apos¬
tolic age? In this inquiry, the biblical student
may obtain complete satisfaction. With respect to
the canon of the Old Testament, one fact will be
sufficient to remove all doubt. These books have
been in the possession of both Jews and Christians,
ever since the commencement of the gospel dispen¬
sation ; and they now agree in acknowledging the
same books to be canonical ; which, considering
the inveterate opposition subsisting between them,
is a convincing evidence, that the canon of the
Old Testament has undergone no change, since the
introduction of Christianity. And that it had un¬
dergone none before that period, may be proved
from this circumstance, that although, our Lord of¬
ten upbraids the Jews with having perverted the
scriptures, he never insinuates that they had altered
or corrupted them.

In confirmation of what has been said respecting

the canon of the Old Testament, we might adduce
the testimony of Josephus, and of the Christian
Fathers; who not only agree with one another in
their catalogue of the books of the Old Testament
but with the canonical list which we now hold!
The books called Apocrypha, were never received
into the canon by the Jews, nor by the earlier
Christian Fathers and councils, and have therefore
no just claim to be considered as belongino’ to the
Old Testament.
 ( 64 )
With regard to the New Testament, the evidence
is equally convincing. The Christian Church
was, in a short time, so widely extended, and em¬
braced so many different languages and nations,
that a universal agreement, in tins whole body,
through all the successive periods of the church, in
acknowledging the same books to be canonical,
must satisfy every impartial mind that our New
Testament is the very same which was received and
held sacred by the primitive church. To strength¬
en this conclusion, it may be added, that at a very
early period, these books were translated into many
different languages ; several of which early trans¬
lations, either in whole or in part, have come down
to our times; and some of them have been preserv¬
ed among Christians unknown to their brethren of
other countries, for many centuries.

In addition to this, it may be observed, that ac¬

curate lists of the books of the New Testament
were made by early ecclesiastical writers, and also
by general councils, which are still extant, and
agree with our catalogue of canonical books. It
deserves to be mentioned also, that the churches
in every part of the world held copies of these
scriptures, which they preserved with the utmost
vigilance; and quotations were made from them,
by all the fathers; so that a large portion of the
New Testament might be collected .from the
works of the early ecclesiastical writers. Besides
 ( 65 )
there are still extant manuscript copies of the
whole, or a part of the New Testament, from
twelve to fifteen hundred years old, which contain
* the same books that are comprehended in our print¬
ed volumes.

What has now been asserted, respecting’ the

universal consent with which the books of the New
Testament were received by the ancient church, in
all its parts, must be admitted, with the exception
of those few books, which have been termed. Anti-
legomena, because their divine authority was denied
or disputed by some. Impartiality requires us
also to state, that these books are not found in some
of the oldest versions, as the Syriac, for instance ;
and therefore it must be admitted that the evidence
for their canonical authority is not so complete, as
of the rest, which were ever undisputed. At the
same time, it ought to be observed, that the chief
reason of doubting, was, because these books, for
a while, were not so generally known to the church¬
es : but as soon as they wrere accurately examined,
and their evidence weighed, opposition to them
ceased; and at no late period, they obtained an
undisturbed place in the sacred canon.

The theological student, having obtained satis¬

faction respecting the perfection of the canon of
scripture, the next step in his investigation should
relate to the integrity of the sacred text. For it h
9
 :< 66 >
possible that the canon might be complete, and yet
the text might be so corrupted and mutilated as to
leave it uncertain what the original of these books
might have been. It is of importance, therefore, to
be able to prove, that the scriptures have suffered no
material injury, from the fraud of designing* men,
or from the carelessness of transcribers. In the
former part of the last century, this was a subject
of warm altercation in the church. For whilst
some maintained that the sacred text had not re¬
ceived the slightest injury from the ravages of time,
others boldly asserted that it was greatly corrupted.
The agitation of this question led to a more ex¬
tensive and accurate examination and collation of
manuscript codices than had been before made, and
, gave rise to that species of Biblical criticism,
which has, within the last half century, assumed so
conspicuous a place in Theological science. Dis¬
tant countries were visited, the dark cells of clois¬
ters and monasteries explored, and all important li¬
braries ransacked, in search of copies of the scrip¬
tures. Learned men, with unparalleled diligence,
employed their whole lives in the collation of
manuscripts, and in noting every, even the smallest
variation, in their readings. Their indefatigable
labour and invincible perseverance in prosecuting
this work, are truly astonishing. It has indeed,
much the appearance of laborious trifling; but upon
the whole, though not always so designed, has
proved serviceable to the cause of truth. For
 ( 67 )
though the serious mind is at first astonished and
confounded, upon being* informed of the multitude
of various readings, noted by Mills, Wetstein, and
Griesbac/i, in the codices of the New Testament;
and by Kennicot and De Rossi, in those of the
Old ; yet it is relieved, when on careful examination
it appears that not more than one of a hundred of
these, makes the slightest variation in the sense,
and that the whole of them do not materially affect
one important fact or doctrine. It is true, a few
important texts, in our received copies, have by
this critical process, been rendered suspicious; but
this lias been more than compensated by the certain¬
ty which has been stamped on the great body of
scripture, by having been subjected to this severe
scrutiny. For the text of our Bibles having* passed
this ordeal, may henceforth bid defiance to suspi¬
cion of its integrity. And with respect to the dis¬
puted texts referred to above, one thing should ever
be kept in mind; that, granting that the evidence
from the present view of ancient manuscripts, is
against their genuineness, yet this may not be de¬
cisive. The learned Cave lays it down as a rule
to direct us, in judging of the comparative excel¬
lence of the editions of the Fathers, “ That the
older the editions are, by so much the more faithful
are they*.” And assigns this reason for the rule,
that the first editions were made from the best

* Historia Literaria Proleg. See. v. R. 1.

 ( 68 )
manuscripts, which were commonly lost or destroy¬
ed, when the edition was completed. And I see
not why the same reason will not equally apply to
the early editions of the scriptures. In fact, there
is historical evidence, that the manuscripts used by
cardinal Ximenes, in his Polyglott, have been des¬
troyed, and they appear, from several circumstan¬
ces, to have been both numerous and ancient: and
I am persuaded also, notwithstanding what Wets-
tein and Michaelis have said to the contrary, that
some of those used by Stephanas, in his editions of
the New Testament, have also been lost. We can- .
not tell, therefore, what the evidence for these texts •
might have been to these learned editors. Cer¬
tainly very strong, or they would not have inserted
them.

The next step in this investigation, w ould be, to

ascertain, that these books are genuine; or were
written by the persons whose names they bear; but
as this appears to me to be substantially answered,
by what has been already said, and by what will
be added under the next article, I will not now
make it a subject of particular discussion ; but will
proceed to inquire into the authenticity and inspira¬
tion of the scriptures. I join these two things to¬
gether, because, although a book may be authentic
without being inspired ; yet if the Bible be authen¬
tic, it must have been given by inspiration, for the
writers profess that they were inspired.
 ( 69 )
The truth of this point may be established by
several species of evidence, quite distinct from each
other.

It may, in the first place, be demonstrated by

proving the truth of the facts recorded in the scrip¬
tures. These facts, many of them, being obviously
of a miraculous nature, if admitted to have exist¬
ed, will indubitably prove, that those persons by
whom they were performed, must have been sent
and assisted of God: for, as the Jewish ruler right¬
ly reasoned, “ no man could do these things unless
God were with him.” Now the truth of these mi¬
racles may be established by testimony, like other
ancient facts; and also by the history of them be¬
ing so interwoven with other authentic history, that
we cannot separate them: and especially, by that
chain of events, depending on them, and reaching
down to our own time, which has no other assigna¬
ble origin but the existence of these miracles. For,
to believe in the events which the history of the
church presents to ns, and yet deny the miracles of
the gospel, would be as absurd, as believing that a
chain which hung suspended before our eyes, had
nothing to support it, because that support was out
of sight. As to the witnesses of these facts, they
are such, and deliver their testimony under such
circumstances, and in such a manner, as to demand
our assent. The impossibility of successfully im¬
pugning this testimony, obliged the most insidious
 ( 70 )

enemy of Christianity to resort to the principle,

‘ that no testimony is sufficient to confirm a mira¬
cle but the absurdity of this position, has been
fully demonstrated by Campbell, Vince, and others,
and it lias also been shown by an ingenious writer*,
that the gospel was true, even upon this author’s
own principles, because its falsehood would involve
a greater miracle than any recorded in it.

The next species of evidence in support of the

proposition under consideration, is derived from
prophecy. If the Scriptures contain predictions of
events which no human sagacity could have fore¬
seen ; it they have foretold events the most im¬
probable, which have occurred in exact conformity
with the prediction; and if they have described a
person combining in his character and life, traits
and events apparently incompatible and inconsist¬
ent,* and yet a person has appeared answering lite¬
rally to this description, then certainly the writers
of these predictions were inspired. But such is
the fact. ‘ This sure word of prophecy’ is, indeed,
like ‘ a light that shineth in a dark place ;’ but it is
also like the light of the dawn which ‘ shineth more
and more unto the perfect day.’ Other evidence
may lose something of its force by the lapse of time,
but this grows brighter and stronger with every re¬
volving year 3 for the scope of prophecy compre-

* Vide Brit, Encyclofi, vol. 14.

 ( 71 )
liends all ages; and new events are continually oc¬
curring which had been long foretold by the ora¬
cles of God. The third species of evidence for
the authenticity and inspiration of the scriptures,
arises out of their contents. The extraordinary,
and superlatively excellent nature of the Christian
religion, proves that it could not have been the pro¬
duction of impostors, nor of unassisted fishermen;
nor indeed, of any description of uninspired men.
its doctimes exhibit that very information, which is
necessary to satisfy the anxious inquiries of man,
conscious of his guilt and desirous of salvation,
its piecepts are so sublimely excellent, so marked
with sanctity and benevolence; and at the same
time so perfectly adapted to human nature and hu¬
man circumstances, that the brightest wit can de¬
tect no flaw, nor suggest any improvement. “ The
heavens declare the glory of God and so does the
holy page of Scripture. It bears the stamp of
divinity in its face; and breathes a spirit which
could originate no where else but in heaven. An¬
other evidence, but connected with the last, is the
blessed tendency and holy efficacy of the gospel to
reform the hearts and lives of men, and to produce
peace and joy in the mind and conscience; which
effects never could result from any false religion.

1 he success of the gospel, in its commencement,

is also an important consideration. When we con¬
template the resistance which was to be overcome.
 ( 72 )

both external, from religious and civil establish¬

ments, and internal, from the inveterate prejudices
and vices of men; and then take into view the
means by which all these obstacles were surmount¬
ed, we cannot refuse to admit that the power of the
Almighty accompanied them.

The beneficial effects of Christianity on those na¬

tions which have received it, is a striking fact, and
furnishes a strong' argument in favour of the au¬
thenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures. len¬
der their benign influence, war has become less
sanguinary and ferocious ; justice has been more
equally distributed; the poor have been more gene¬
rally instructed, and their wants supplied; asylums
have been provided for the unfortunate and distress¬
ed ; the female character has been appreciated and
exalted to its proper standard in society; the matri¬
monial bond has been held more sacred; and poly¬
gamy, the bane of domestic happiness, discounte¬
nanced. In short, the whole fabric of society has
been meliorated; and real civilization promoted
by Christianity, wherever it has been received :
and the above mentioned effects have borne an ex¬
act proportion to the purity in which this holy re¬
ligion was preserved, and the degree of conformi¬
ty to its precepts which has existed among any peo¬
ple.

The next question which should engage the at-

 ( 78 )
fcention of the theological student, is, for what pur¬
pose were the Scriptures given? In answer to
this, all are ready to ag ee, that they were intended
to be a guide to man in matters of religion; a rule
of faith and practice. But here several important
questions occur. Are the scriptures the only rule ?
Are they a sufficient rule ? Are they an authorita¬
tive rule ? and were they only designed to guide
us in matters of religion ?

Our first controversy is with the Romanists, who

maintain that tradition is also a rule of faith; and
that the Scriptures without tradition are neither a
sufficient nor intelligible rule. But this opinion
takes away all that fixedness and certainty, which a
written revelation was intended and calculated to
give to religion. Wherein consists the advantage
of having a part of the will of God committed to
writing, if the interpretation of this depends on
the uncertain and varying light of oral tradition?
We might as well have nothing but tradition, as
be under the necessity of resorting to this uncertain
guide to lead us to the true meaning of the written
word. But had it been intended to make this the
channel of communicating the divine will to pos¬
terity, some method would have been devised, to
preserve the stream of tradition pure. No such me¬
thod has been made known. On the contrary, the
Scriptures predict a general and awful apostacy ii\
the church. It could not be otherwise, but that
10
 ( 74 )
during* tins period, tradition would become a cor¬
rupt channel of information. This apostacy has
taken place; and the stream of tradition has, in
fact, become so muddy, and so swelled with fo¬
reign accessions, from every quarter, that Christiani¬
ty, viewed through this medium, exhibits the appear¬
ance of a deformed and monstrous mass of super¬
stition. But, if we should admit the principle, that
the constant tradition of the church should be our
guide, where shall we go to look for it ? To the
Greek, to the Latin, or to the Syriac church P To
the 4th, 9th, or 14th, century ? For there is no uni¬
formity ; not even in the infallible Catholic Church.
Every one in the least acquainted with ecclesiasti¬
cal history, must know, that not only has the prac¬
tice varied, at different times, in very important
matters ; but also the Bulls of Popes, and Decrees
and Canons of Councils, have often been in perfect
collision with one another: and, what is worst
of all, have often been in direct hostility with the
word of Gob. For the same thing has happened
to tradition in the Christian, as formerly in the Jew¬
ish church. ‘ It hath made the word of God of
none effect,’ ‘ teaching for doctrines the command¬
ments of meru

But whilst we reject tradition as a rule of truth,

we do not deny the utility of having recourse to
the early practice of the church, for the illustration
 ( 75 )
ot Scripture, where there is any doubt respecting
apostolic practice or institution.

There are two other opinions, by which the suffi¬

ciency and authority of the Scriptures, as a rule
of faith and practice, are invalidated. These,
though held by persons erring on opposite extremes,
agree in derogating from the respect due to the
Scriptures.

The first is, the opinion of those who will not

believe any thing, though contained in Scripture,
which does not correspond with their own reason.*
If, for instance, a thousand passages of Scripture
could be adduced, explicitly teaching the doctrine
of the Trinity, of original sin, of efficacious gracef
of vicarious sufferings, or eternal punishments, they
w ould not admit them, because they have determin¬
ed all these to be contrary to reason; and therefore
the scriptures must he so interpreted, as to exclude
all such doctrines; and the texts which support
them, must be tortured by the critical art, or per¬
verted by the wiles of sophistry, until they are si¬
lent, or speak a different language. Now, the only
mystery in the religion of these sons of reason, is
that they should want a revelation at all. Certainly
it would be more consistent to reject Christianity
wholly, than whilst professing to receive it in the
general, to deny almost all the particular doctrines
of which the general system is composed. For
 { 76 )
my own part, I cannot consider Socinianism in any
other light than Deism masked. At any rate, they
are nearly related. If that has a little stronger
faith, this has the advantage on the score of con¬
sistency.

The other opinion referred to, is that of fanatics

m general, who, whilst they confess that the scrip¬
tures are divinely inspired, imagine that they are
possessed of the same inspiration. And some, in
our own times, have proceeded so far, as to boast of
revelations, by which the Scriptures are entirely
superseded as a rule of faith and practice*. Now,
the difference between these persons, and the holy
men of God who wrote the Scriptures, consists in
two things. First, the inspired writers could give
some external evidence, by miracle or prophecy, to
prove their pretensions; but enthusiasts can furnish
no such evidence: and secondly, the productions of
the prophets and apostles, were worthy of God, and
bore his impress ; but the discourses of these men,
except what they repeat from Scripture, are wholly
unworthy their boasted origin, and more resemble
the dreams of the sick, or the ravings of the insane,
than the 4 words of truth and soberness.’

But, on the other hand, there have been some

Vide * The testimony of Christ's second (ipfiecering?

By the people called Suakers.
 ( 77 )
who believed, that the scriptures not only furnish 11
l’ule to guide us in our religion, but a complete sys¬
tem of philosophy ; that the true theory of the uni¬
verse is revealed in the first chapters of Genesis;
and that there is an intimate connexion betwixt the
natural and spiritual world. The one containing a
sort of emblematical representation of the other;
so that even the high mystery of the Trinity is sup¬
posed to be exhibited by the material fluid, which
pervades the universe, in its different conditions, of
fire, light, and air. John Hutchinson, Esq. of Eng¬
land, took the lead in propagating this system, and
has been followed by some men of great name and
gieat worth. Jones, Horne, Parkhurst, Spearman,
and Bates, would be no discredit to any cause.
But, although, we acknowledge, that there is some¬
thing in this theory which is calculated to prepos¬
sess the pious mind in its favour ; yet it is too deep¬
ly enveloped in clouds and darkness to admit of
its becoming generally prevalent. And if what
these learned men suppose, had been the object of
revelation, no doubt, some more certain clue would
have been given to assist us to ascertain the mind
of the Spmt, than the obscure, though learned, criti¬
cisms of Hutchinson.

The next question which occurs, in the course of

this investigation, is very important. How should
the Scriptures be interpreted, in order that we may
arrive at their true and full meaning ? The obvi-
 ( 78 )
ous answer would be, by attending to the grammati¬
cal and literal sense of the words employed, to the
force aud significance of the figures and allusions
used, and to the idiom of the languages in which
they are written. But here we are met by a very
important and embarrassing question. Is the lite¬
ral meaning of Scripture, always, or generally, the
principal and ultimate sense ; or, are we to suppose
that under this, there is a recondite, spiritual mean¬
ing contained? Most of the Fathers considered
the Scriptures to contain a double sense; the one
literal, the other mystical or allegorical; and they
regarded the first very little except in relation to
the second. The Romanists maintain an opinion
very similar ; but the mystical sense they divide in¬
to several parts. And among Protestants, there are
many who discover a strong predilection for this
mode of interpretation.

But this principle, admitted without limitation or

qualification, has a direct tendency to overthrow all
certainty in divine revelation. For, as there is no
certain key to this mystical or spiritual meaning,
every man makes it out according to the liveliness
of his own imagination : and weak men by their
fanciful expositions greatly degrade the dignity
and mar the beauty of revealed truth.

The followers of Baron Swedenborg, not con¬

tented with two, maintain that the Scriptures con-
 ( 70 )
tain three senses, the celestial, spiritual, and natural,
which are connected by correspondences. This
doctrine of correspondences, is, according to them,
the only key to open the true meaning* of Scrip¬
ture ; which was, for many ages, lost, but recently
was made known to this extraordinary nobleman.
Notwithstanding the extravagance of this system,
it has charms for some persons, and these not of
the illiterate vulgar. It is a sort of refined mysti¬
cism, which corresponds with the peculiar turn of
some minds, that are fond of novelty, and disdain
to walk in the old beaten track. Reasoning* or
argument, with those who profess to hold familiar
intercourse with angels, would, I presume, be su¬
perfluous. We shall leave them therefore to enjoy
their visions of a terrestrial heaven, without inter¬
ruption, whilst we proceed to observe,

That among the orthodox themselves, there is

no small difference of opinion respecting the ex¬
tent which may be given to the meaning of scrip¬
ture. The celebrated Cocceius laid it down as a
rule, that scripture should he considered as signify-
ing all that it could he made to signify. The whole
of the Old Testament, in his opinion, was either
typicai 01 prophetical of Messiah and his kingdom.
Heie, as in a glass, he supposed the future desti¬
nies of the church might be viewed. The learned
Grotius verged to the very opposite extreme, in his
Meas of the interpretation of scripture. This gave
 ( 80 )

rise to a saying which became proverbial, respect*

mg these two great men; and which is highly cre¬
ditable to the piety ot the former; 11 Grotium nus-
quant in sacris lilei'is invenire Christum, Cocceium
ubujue. * That Grotius could find Christ no where
in the Bible, Cocceius every where.’

This rule of Cocceius, however, is liable to great

abuse; and as Limborch justly observes, ‘ is calcu¬
lated to make of the Scriptures a mere Lesbian
rule, or nose of wax, which may be bent into any
shape; and seems to be no other than the old alle¬
gorical method of interpretation, introduced under
a new name.’

But, on the other hand, it is certain, that many of

the persons, occurrences, and ceremonies, of the Old
T. estament, are typical; and some things are thus
interpreted in the JNTew Testament, which we never
should have conjectured to possess any meaning
beyond the literal, unless we had been otherwise
taught by inspiration. Besides, all judicious com¬
mentators are forced to admit, that many of the
prophecies have a primary and secondary reference,
even the most important of those which relate to
Messiah, are of this description. Those who in¬
sist that one meaning and no more belongs to eve¬
ry text, are greatly at a loss how to reconcile with
their opinion, the quotations made from the Old
Testament in the New, where they are expressly
 ( 81 )
said to be fulfilled, though certainly, many of them,
not in their primary and literal sense. Under the
guidance of sound sense and just criticism, we
should pursue a middle course between these two
extremes. But although we cannot admit the rule
of Cocceius in all its latitude, nor go the whole
way with his followers; yet it is but justice to ac¬
knowledge, that some of them deserve to be rank¬
ed with the first expositors and theologians who
have appeared in the church. As long as truth,
piety, and solid learning, shall be held in esteem,
the names, of Witsius, Vitringa, Butman, Van Til,
and Braunius, will be dear to the theological stu¬
dent.

Upon the whole, our conclusion respecting this

matter, is, that every particular passage of scrip¬
ture should be interpreted according to the pecu¬
liar circumstances of the case: the literal should be
considered as the true and only meaning, unless
some remoter sense be indicated by some peculiar
aptitude, correspondence, or fitness, in the words
and ideas of the text; or unless it be referred to
something else in the Scriptures themselves. Good
sense and the analogy of faith, are the guides which
we should follow in interpreting the Bible.

We come now to consider the helps which the

biblical student needs, to enable him to search the
scriptures with success. The volumes which we
11
 ( 82 )
have already supposed to be put into his hands, are
not written in our vernacular tongue. We have, it
is true, an excellent translation of the scriptures;
but this was not made by inspiration, and cannot
therefore possess the same authority and infallibili¬
ty, with the originals. We admit the lawfulness
and utility of translations for the use of the people;
but nothing can be more evident, than that the ex¬
pounder of scripture should be well acquainted
with the very 1 words by which the Holy Ghost
teacheth’ us the will of God. The knowledge of
the Hebrew and Greek languages, therefore, is a
necessary pre-requisite to the successful study of
the scriptures. I think I may venture to assert,
that this single acquisition will be of more import¬
ance to the theological student, than all the com¬
mentaries which have ever been written. By this
means, he will be able to see with his own eyes;
and will be qualified to judge for himself.

Every person who has had experience, will ac¬

knowledge, that even in reading the plainest texts,
there is a satisfaction and advantage to be derived
from the original, which cannot easily be explained.
It becomes therefore a duty incumbent on all who
are candidates for the sacred office, or invested with
it, to endeavour to become acquainted with the ori¬
ginal Scriptures.

But in all writings, and especially such as con-

 ( 83 ) .
tain historical facts, there are frequent allusions to
the existing- customs of the country, and to the pre¬
vailing opinions of the people, where the book was
written. The same is found to be the case with
the scriptures. Many passages would be quite un¬
intelligible, without some acquaintance with Jewish
antiquities. The customs and manners of that
people should, therefore, be studied with particular
attention.

And as scriptural history frequently refers to

the condition, character, and transactions of co-
temporaneous nations, it is of importance to be well
acquainted with their history, as delivered to us by
profane authors. I here is, however, a more im¬
portant reason why the Biblical student should
be well versed in history, ancient and modern j
and that is, because there he must look tor the
accomplishment of many important prophecies.
Even the fulfilment of the remarkable prediction
of Christ, respecting the destruction of Jerusalem,
is not recorded in scripture, but must be sought in
the Jewish and Roman historians.

Chronology and geography are also requisite

helps, to enable us to understand many parts of
scripture. T. hese have been called the eyes of
history; and they are not more so of civil, than sa¬
cred history.
 ( 84 )
Even modern travels have been turned, by some
learned men, to a very important account, in ex¬
plaining1 the scriptures. For oriental customs and
modes of living, have not been subject to the same
capricious changes, which have prevailed in the
western nations. And therefore, by observing
carelully what oriental customs are, at this day, a
very probable opinion may be formed, of what
they were two thousand years ago. This observa¬
tion holds good, particularly, in relation to such
Eastern nations as have never been conquered,
nor incorporated with any other people; as the
Arabs, for instance.

Indeed, to speak the truth, there is scarcely any

science or branch of knowledge, which may not
be made subservient to theology. Natural history,
chemistry, and geology, have sometimes been of
important service, in assisting the Biblical student
to solve difficulties contained in scripture; or in
enabling him to repel the assaults of adversaries,
which were made under cover of these sciences.
A general acquaintance with the whole circle of
science is of more consequence to the Theologian,
than at first sight appears. Not to mention the in¬
timate connexion which subsists between all the
parts of truth, in consequence of which important
light may often be collected from the remotest
quarters; it may be observed, that the state of
learning in the world requires the advocate of the
 ( 85')
Bible, to attend to many things which may not in
themselves be absolutely necessary. He must
maintain his standing as a man of learning. He
* must be able to converse on the various topics of
learning with other literary men ; otherwise the due
respect will not be paid to him; and his sacred of¬
fice may suffer contempt, in consequence of his ap¬
pearing to be ignorant of what it is expected all
learned men should be acquainted with.

But next to the knowledge of the original lan¬

guages, an acquaintance with early translations is
most important. The Septuagint, the Chaldaic
paraphrase, the Syriac, and the Vulgate, deserve
to be particularly mentioned.

The Septuagint is an invaluable treasure to the

student of sacred literature. Most of the Fathers,
and several learned moderns, believed it to have
been made by inspiration; and others, as well as
these, have preferred it to the Hebrew original.
But this is certainly attributing too much to it.
The fabulous account of the miraculous manner
in which it was executed, given by Aristeas, which
misled the fathers, is now generally exploded; and
this was the principal ground on which the opinion
of its inspiration rested. It has been pleaded also,
that this version was constantly quoted by Christ
and his Apostles; but our Lord himself could not
have used it, as he spoke and conversed not in the
 ( 86 )
Greek, but the Syriac language. And although it
is true, that the Apostles and Evangelists common¬
ly quote from it, yet not uniformly . Sometimes they
differ from it, and give a better translation of the
original. It has also been plausibly stated, that
the manuscripts from which this version was made,
must have been much more perfect than any now
extant, after the lapse of two thousand years. But
it ought to be remembered, that the copies of the
translation have been as liable to the injuries of
time, as those of the original: and indeed much
more so; for providence raised up a set of men,
who watched over the Hebrew text with unceasing
and incomparable vigilance. The Masorites de¬
voted their lives to this object; and to prevent all
possibility of corruption or alteration, they number¬
ed not only the words, but the letters, of every book
in the Bible. No such means were employed for
the preservation of the text of the lxx 3 and accord¬
ingly the various readings in the copies of this ver¬
sion, are far more numerous and important than
those of the Hebrew original. But whilst we re¬
ject the high claims for this version, which go to
place it on a level with, or give it the preference to,
the original; we willingly acknowledge its im¬
portance ; and what is remarkable, is, its utility is
greater in relation to the New Testament, than the
Old; for it is written in that very dialect of the
Greek language, in which the books of the New
Testament are written; that is, the words are
 ( 87 )
Greek, but the idiom Hebrew. It is therefore of
more importance in assisting us to understand the
language of the New Testament, than all other
Greek authors beside.

This version has, by the consent of all, been con¬

sidered the oldest extant; but a recent writer in
The Christian Observer*, asserts that the Syri¬
ac translation of the Old Testament, contains in-
ternal marks of an antiquity superior to that of the
Septuagint. The evidence of the fact, if it be so,
must be internal; for I believe it is certain, that
there is no external testimony which will support
this assertion.

The Chaldaic paraphrase has commonly been re¬

ferred to the time of Christ’s advent, or to a period
a little earlier; but the above-mentioned writer as¬
serts that it is nearly as old as the time of Ezra.
Without stopping to inquire into the validity of
this opinion, I would observe, that these paraphras¬
es are of no small importance to the interpreter of
scripture, as they serve to show how the Jewish
doctors understood certain passages prior to the
birth of Christ; and clearly prove, that they refer¬
red to the expected Messiah, all or most of those
prophecies, which we apply to Christ.

* N°. for July, 1811.

 ( 88 )
The Syriac version of the New Testament is
very valuable, on account of its antiquity; and has
some shadow of claim to the authority of an ori¬
ginal ; for it is written in the same, or very nearly
the same language, which our Lord used when he
delivered his sermons and instructions to the peo¬
ple ; and may therefore be supposed to contain, in
many instances, the identical words which he utter¬
ed. In the opinion of some, it was made at the
close of the Apostolic age, or at furthest some time
in the second century: but others refer it to the
third, fourth, or even the fifth, century. However
these things may be, it cannot be doubted, but
that much advantage may be derived from this
version in searching the scriptures; and accord¬
ingly much use has been made of it by the learned,
of late, in solving difficulties and elucidating ob¬
scure passages, which occur in the New Testa- ,
ment: and being written in a language possessing
a near affinity with the Hebrew, it is easily accessi-
O

ble to the Hebrew scholar.

The Vulgate, is commonly supposed to have

been made by Jerome, and to have succeeded to
older latin versions. It was, for many ages, the only
medium through which the revelation contained in
holy Scripture, was viewed in the western part of
the church. The Romanists, considering that this
version could be made to favour their pretensions
and corruptions, more than the original, bent all
 ( 89 )
their force to the support of its authority; whilst
at the same time, they let slip no opportunity of
disparaging1 the Hebrew text. At length they
proceeded so far as to decree, in the Council of
Trent, ‘ that it should be reckoned as the authentic
standard by which all disputationsf preachings, and
expositions, should be judged ; and that no person
should dare to reject its authority on any pretext
whatever.’ Tiie more liberal Catholics themselves,
are ashamed 01 the unblushing effrontery of this
decree ; and what slender foundation there was for
so high a claim, may be conjectured from this cir¬
cumstance, that a learned man* of their own com¬
munion declares, that lie had himself noted eighty
thousand errors in this version. But, nevertheless,
it may be useful in many ways to the Biblical stu¬
dent, and being written in Latin, is accessible to
every scholar. And here I will take occasion to
remark, the great importance of a familiar ac¬
quaintance with the Latin language, to the Theolo¬
gian. Although no part of scripture is written in
that language, yet it is almost essentially necessary
to pass through this vestibule, in order to arrive at
the knowledge ot any other ancient language;
most valuable grammars and dictionaries being
written in Latin: and almost all Theological
works, not designed for the immediate use of the
people, were composed in this language, prior to

* Isidore Clarius,
12
 ( 90 )
the middle of the last century, a very small portion
of which have been translated into English. The
couise of theological study would indeed be very
much circumscribed, if we were destitute of this
key to unlock its rich treasures. It would lead
me into a discussion too long, to consider, what
assistance may be derived from the writings of the
Fathers; what from the Schoolmen; what from
the Reformers; and what from more modern
commentators and critics, in the interpretation of
the scriptures. The time allotted for this dis¬
course, would be entirely insufficient to do justice
to this subject. I shall therefore leave it untouched,
and proceed to mention,

A help, which, though put in the last place, in

this discourse, is of more real importance than all
the rest; and that is, the illumination and assistance
oj the Holy Spirit. Illumination differs from in¬
spiration in this respect; that whereas by the lat¬
ter we are made acquainted with truths before un¬
revealed, or unknown, by the former we are ena¬
bled to discern the beauty and real nature of the
truths contained in a revelation already made. It.
is obvious, that in the study of divine truth, much
depends on the temper and condition of the stu¬
dent’s mind. A proud and self-sufficient person,
however endowed with acuteness of intellect, and
furnished with stores of literature, is continually
prone to fall into pernicious error; whilst the hum-
 ( 91 )
ble man occupies a station from which truth may be
viewed to advantage. Prejudice, proceeding from
education or passion, blinds the mind, and warps
the judgment; but the sincere and ardent love of
truth disposes us to view the whole evidence, and.
impartially to weigh the arguments on both sides
of any question. As much therefore depends upon
preserving our own minds in a proper state, as upon
the diligent use of external means of information.
The conclusion from these premises is, that the
student of sacred literature should be possessed of
sincere and ardent piety. He should be a man
‘ taught of God,’ conscious of his own insufficien¬
cy, but confident of the help of the Almighty. In¬
deed, when we consider the weakness of the human
intellect, and the various prejudices and false im¬
pressions to which it is constantly liable, we must
be convinced, that without divine assistance, there
is little hope of arriving at the knowledge of truth,
or preserving it when acquired. He, who would
understand the Scriptures, therefore, ought not to
‘ lean to his own understanding,’ but by continual
and earnest prayer, should look unto the ‘ Father of
lights,’ from whom proceedeth every good and eve¬
ry perfect gift; and who hath promised to give
wisdom to those who lack it, and ask for it.

There is no person who needs more to be in the

constant exercise of prayer, than the Theological
student: not only at stated periods, but continually,
 ( 92 )
iu the midst of his studies, his heart should be rais¬
ed to heaven for help and direction. A defect
here, it is to be feared, is one principal reason why
so much time and labour are often employed in
theological studies with so little profit to the
church. That knowledge which puffeth up is ac¬
quired; but charity, which edifieth, is neglected.

When the serious mind falls into doubt respect¬

ing divine truths, the remedy is not always reason¬
ing and argument, but divine illumination. The
mind may be in such a state, that it is rather per¬
plexed, than relieved, by mere human reasoning;
but at such times a lively impression made by the
Spirit of truth, banishes all doubt and hesitation ;
and then, the same texts or arguments which were
before unavailing to our conviction and satisfaction,
exhibit the truth in a light as clear as demonstra¬
tion. This may appear to some to savour of en¬
thusiasm. Be it so. It is, however, an enthusi¬
asm essential to the very nature of our holy
religion, without which it would be a mere dry
system of speculation, of ethics and ceremonies.
But this divine illumination is its life, its soul> its
essence. It is true, this influence is not peculiar to
the theologian. Every sincere Christian, in his mea¬
sure, partakes of this ‘ anointing,’ by which he is
taught to know all things; but the teacher of reli¬
gion needs a double portion of this spirit. How of¬
ten does the minister of the gospel labour and toil
 ( 03 )
with all his might, without producing any thing of
importance, for edification! But it he receive the
aid of the Spirit, his text is opened and illustrated,
without any painful exertion of his own. He is
conscious, indeed, that he is a mere recipient. The
train of thought which occupies his mind, appears
to originate in some occult cause, which he cannot
trace. And happy would it be for preachers,
happy for their hearers, if there were more depend¬
ence on divine assistance, not only in the composi¬
tion, but in the delivery of sermons! When God
shall appear in his glory, to build up Jerusalem, he
will i aise up, I have no doubt, a race of preachers,
who shall partake of this heavenly gift, in a much
highei degree than has heretofore been common.
He will bring forward to the sacred office, men pos¬
sessing boldness, founded on their reliance upon di¬
vine assistance; clearness, proceeding from divine
illumination; and that unction which flows from
the sweet and lively experience of the truth deliver¬
ed, in the heart of the preacher. The solicitous, and
often unsuccessful, effort to rise to some artificial
standard of oratory, shall then yield to nobler mo¬
tives; and the preacher, like Paul, shall be willing
to make a sacrifice of his own reputation for learning,
and refinement, at the foot of the cross: and to
count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord. Gospel
simplicity and sincerity, shall then be preferred by
the Man of God, to all the soaring flights of eloquence,
 ( 94 )

and to all the splendid trappings and tinsel of hu¬

man science. May it please the Lord of the
vineyard speedily to send forth many such labour¬
ers into his harvest; for the harvest is great, and the
labourers are few!

I will now bring this discourse to a conclusion,

by offering some motives to excite the Theological
student to diligence in the perusal of the sacred
scriptures.

A book has a claim upon our time and study, on

account of the authority by which it comes recom¬
mended, the excellency of the matter comprehend¬
ed in it, and the interest which we have involved in
the knowledge of its contents. On all these ac¬
counts the Bible has the highest possible claim on
our attention. It comes to us, as we have proved,
authenticated as the word of God; stamped as it
were with the signature of heaven ; and reccom-
mended to our diligent perusal by the Lord Je¬
sus Christ. The matter which it contains, is, like
its origin,divine: truth, pure, glorious and all impor¬
tant truth, constitutes the subject of this Book. The
saying ascribed to Mr. Locke, when he took leave
of a beloved relation, shortly before his end, was
worthy of that profound genius; “ Study,” said he,
« the Sacred Scriptures; they have God for their
author, truth without mixture of error for their
matter, and eternal life for their end.” If we should
 ( 95 )
take the lowest view of the subject, and form our
opinion of the scriptures by the same rules by
which we judge of human compositions, they will
be found to transcend the highest efforts of human
genius, as far as the heavens are above the earth.
Hear on this subject, the decision of a scholar, in
whom learning and taste in their highest perfection
were combined ; “ I have regularly and attentively
read these holy scriptures, and am of opinion that
this volume, independently of its divine origin, con¬
tains more sublimity and beauty, purer morality,
and finer strains of poetry and eloquence, than can
be collected from all other books, in whatever acre
or language they may have been composed.*” But
the excellency of the Scriptures cannot be appreci¬
ated by the rules of human criticism. As well
might we think of judging of the proportions of the
celestial arch, or the location of the stars in the vast
expanse, by the rules of architecture. The word of
God, like his works, is on a plan too vast, too sub¬
lime, too profound, to be measured by the feeble in¬
tellect of man.

Fully to explain how worthy the scriptures are

of our attention, on account of the matter compre¬
hended in them, would require us to exhibit ad the
truths which they contain; but as this cannot be

* Found written in his own hand, on a blank leaf of Sir

William Jones’s Bible, after his death.
 ( 96 )
done in one, or a few discourses, I will now con*
tent myself with mentioning a few leading points,
on which the scriptures furnish us with information
of the most important kind.

In the first place, then, it is here, and here alone,

that we can learn the true character of God. The
indistinct outline, which may be traced in the works
of creation, is here tilled up. The knowledge of
God, which could be derived from a view of his
works, would not be sufficient for man, even in a
state of innocence; and much less so when he is
fallen into sin. None have ever been able to form
just conceptions of the Deity from the light ot na¬
ture alone. A revelation was absolutely necessary
to teach man what God is; and the Bible con¬
tains all the information which we need on this
subject. Here the divine glory is revealed. The
moral attributes of Deity, especially, are represent¬
ed in the clearest, strongest light. Truths respect¬
ing the divine nature, are here revealed, concerning
which, reason and philosophy could never have
formed a conjecture. The glorious and mysterious
doctrine of a Trinity in unity, is taught from the
beginning to the end of the Bible; a doctrine of¬
fensive to the pride of man, but one which will af¬
ford subject for profound contemplation through
eternity. From the scriptures we learn, not only
that < od is holy, just, merciful, and faithful; but we
behold these attributes harmonizing in a work which,
 ( 97 )
according io all the views that finite wisdom could
have taken of it, must have placed them in a state
of complete variance; that is, in the justification
and salvation of a sinner. Ia the redemption of
Christ these divine perfections not only appear har¬
monious ; ‘ mercy and truth having met together,
and righteousness and peace having kissed each
other; but in the cross, are exhibited with a lus¬
tre and glory, which, according to our conceptions,
could not have been given to them, in any other
circumstances. It we would know the only true
God, then, we must ‘ search the Scriptures.’

In the next place, we obtain from the Bible a sa¬

tisfactory account of the origin of evil, natural and
moral. Not, indeed, an explanation of the reason
why it was permitted; but such an account of its in¬
troduction, as is perfectly consistent with the honour
and purity of the divine government. We here learn
that God created man ‘ in a state of innocency,
with freedom and power to will and do that which
was well pleasing to himself, but yet mutable, so
that he might fall from it.’ This liberty was abus¬
ed by man : sin therefore owes its origin to the
creature, who is wholly chargeable with its blame;
although it did not take place without the know¬
ledge, nor contrary to the purpose, of the infinite God.
The first man being the root of all his posterity,
and being appointed to act for them as well as for
himself, they are involved with him in all the con¬
sequences of his fall; for ‘ they sinned in hint
and fell with him in his first transgressionAll
13
 c y** )
the streams of sin and misery in the world, flow
from this original fountain. And so deep and
dreadful is this fall of man, that he is utterly una¬
ble to recover himself from the guilt and depravi¬
ty into which he is by nature sunk.

1 he last mentioned article of information would

be only calculated to plunge us into the depths of
misery and despair, were it not, that the scriptures
teach us the consoling doctrine of redemption. In¬
deed, the whole Bible may be considered as a his¬
tory of Redemption, Here we can trace the won¬
drous plan up to its origin, in the eternal counsels
of peace. Here we read of the early develope-
ment of this plan, after the fall, in paradise. The
incarnation and victory of the glorious Redeemer
was clearly intimated in the promise,4 that the seed
of the woman should bruise the serpent's head' To
this object, the faith of the pious was directed, by >
every new revelation and institution. Prophets, in
long succession, with lips touched with hallowed
fire, described and predicted Immanuel Although
their prophecies are often expressed in dark symbo¬
lical language, yet sometimes, from the midst of
this darkness, there are vivid coruscations of light,
which exhibit the promised Messiah as visibly, as if
he had already come. At length the fulness of
time arrived, and “ God sent forth his Son made of
, ,
a woman made under the law to redeem them that
were under the law." “ God was now manifest in
Ike flesh" And He “ who being in the form of
 ( 99 )
God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God,
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient unto deaths
even the death of the cross ; wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name." The redemption of the church
by the blood of the Son of God, is a subject on
which angels look with wonder; and it is a subject,
which, through eternity, will furnish a theme for
the songs of the redeemed of the Lord.

But the scriptures give us information, not only

of the work of the Redeemer in procuring for us
an “ everlasting righteousnessbut also of the
work of the Spirit, in uniting the redeemed soul to
Jesus Christ; in regenerating, sanctifying, support¬
ing, guiding, and comforting it; until it is ‘ made
meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.’

Another important article of information which

We find in the Scriptures of truth, is a clear expres¬
sion of the will of God, in relation to the duty of
man. There are, it is true, traces of the law of
God still remaining on the heart of every man; but
these are far from being sufficient to show him the
full extent, and the spiritual nature, of the duties
required of him. And what might be known from
honestly inquiring of our own consciences, respect¬
ing our duty, is often missed through the influence
of false principles, instilled into the mind by a de-
 ( 100 )
fective education, and by customs become universally
prevalent, through the corruption of human nature.
But we need be no longer at a loss about the law
of God. He condescended to publish it, with his
own voice, in the hearing of all Israel; and to
write it with his own finger, on tables of stone.
To explain this law, we have many comments from
inspired men; but especially we have the lucid ex¬
position of the Law-giver himself; and, what is
more important, we behold it fully illustrated and
exemplified, in the obedience which he, in our na¬
ture, and for our sakes, rendered to it; so that, if
we now wish to know our duty, we have only to
contemplate the character of Jesus Christ. If we
wish to do it, we have only to walk in his foot-steps.

Finally, the scriptures contain a distinct and full

revelation of futurity, as far as it is necessary for
us to know what is to be hereafter. In them,
“ life and immortality are brought to light.” Full
assurance is given, by the testimony of one who
cannot lie, that * an exceeding great and eternal
weight of glory’ is reserved for the people of God
in another w orld. In the New Testament, we are
made familiar with heaven, by the frequency with
which it is mentioned and described. The existence
of a future world is no longer left to be collected
by uncertain reasoning, and probable conjecture.
It is now a matter of testimony. Faith has a firm
ground on which to rest; for this truth is linked
with every fact and doctrine of the gospel; is seen in
every promise and threatening under the new dis-
 ( 101 )

pensation. But the scriptures reveal uot only a

heaven of glory, but a hell of horror; a dark and
" bottomless pit,” where ‘ the worm dieth not, and
where the fire is not quenched,’ and where “ there is
weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth' They
give us the certain assurance, also, of a day being
appointed in which God will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordain¬
ed; and in which they that are in their graves
shall rise, some to everlasting life and glory, and
others to everlasting shame and contempt.

From this brief survey of what the scriptures

teach us, we must be convinced of the great im¬
portance of being well acquainted with them.
Our own salvation is involved in the right know-
ledge of this book; and if we are teachers of
others, how important is it, that we ‘ as good stew¬
ards of the mysteries of God,’ be * able rightly to
divide the word of truth, giving to every one his
portion in due season.’ We should, therefore,
“ meditate on these things, and give ourselves wholly
to them, that our profitting may appear unto all.”
We must “ take heed unto ourselves, and to our doc¬
trine, and continue in thqm; for by so doing we
shall both save ourselves and them that hear us.”

But we shall not only find the scriptures to be a

source of profitable instruction; a rich mine of
truth which has never yet been fully explored ; but
also a source of pure tmd permanent delight.
 ( 102 )
As the natural light is pleasant to the eyes, so is
truth to the understanding, unless some moral dis¬
ease render its approach unacceptable. ‘ They whose
deeds are evil, love darkness rather than lightbut
the regenerate soul * rejoices in the truth.’ Food
to the hungry is not more pleasant, nor cold water
more refreshing to the thirsty, than evangelical
truth to the pious mind. It is, indeed, the bread of
life which cometh down from heaven ; the hidden
manna, with which the spiritual Israel are fedy
whilst they sojourn in this wilderness. The per¬
son who has been taught of God, prefers the truths
of his word to all earthly treasures, and to all the
sw eets of nature. * More are they to be desired, than
gold, yea, than much fine gold : sweeter also than
honey and the honey comb.’ ‘ The law of thy
mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and
silver.’ * Thy statutes have been my song in the
house of my pilgrimage.’ How delightful must
it be to sit as a disciple at the feet of Jesus, and
with a child-like docility, imbibe precious instruc¬
tion, from his word and Spirit! When we fall under
the power of some overwhelming temptation, or
when dark clouds of adversity thicken around us,
in the truths and promise^ of our God, we find our
only refuge. In the sanctuary, when the oracles of
God are delivered, doubt and unbelief, sorrow and
despair, are driven away. Here divine beauty
beams with mild effulgence on the soul, and the
troubled spirit is charmed to rest. “ One day in
thy courts is better than a thousand.” “ One thiny
have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after,
 ( 103 )

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord, all the

days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord.”

When Jesus joins himself to his disconsolate dis¬

ciples, how soon is their sorrow turned into joy!
And whilst he 4 opens their understandings to un¬
derstand the scriptures,’ how do their hearts burn
within them! lhat which above all thing's makes
the scriptures precious, and the study of them de¬
lightful, is, that there we can find Jesus Christ.
We have no need to say, 4 who shall ascend into
heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above; or
who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring up
Christ again from the dead ?” For, 44 the word is
nigh us, even in our mouth, and in our heart; that
is, the word of faith which we preach.” 44 Christ
and him crucified,” is the centre of the Christian’s
religion, the foundation of his faith and hope, and
the perennial spring of all his pleasures and his
joys. When, at any time, it pleasfes God to shine
upon his word, whilst the believer reads its sacred
contents, what a divine glory illuminates the holv
page! What attractive beauty diaws forth the
best affections of his heart! Wliat vonders do his
opened eyes behold in the cross ! He seems to be
translated into a new world, and is ready to ex¬
claim, 44 I have heard of thee by the hearirg of the
ear; but now mine eye seetli thee.” 44 OH things
are passed away, and behold, all things arebecome
new.” O ! could the pious reader of the sriptures
constantly retain these spiritual views, and iiese ho-
 ( 104 )

ly impressions, heaven would be begun. This wil¬

derness would ‘ bud and blossom as the rose,’ and
paradise be renewed on earth. But ‘ this is not our
rest, it is polluted;’ that remaineth for the people of
God j even “ an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in the heavens for
us, who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.”

But whilst we are on our pilgrimage to this pro¬

mised land, the scriptures will be u a light to our
feet and a lamp to our paths.” They will answer
the same purpose to us, which the pillar of cloud
and of lire, did to the Israelites. They will guide
us in the right way, through all our journey. Let
us, then, be persiiaded diligently ‘ to search the
Scriptures.’

I beg leave to conclude this discourse in the

words of the pious Weller, the friend and disciple
of Luther :
“ I admonish you again and again, that you
“ read the sacred scriptures in afar different man-
* ner from tfat in which you read any other book :
“ that you approach them with the highest rever¬
u ence, and most intense application of your mind ;
“ not a the words of a man, nor an angel, but as
“ the -v ords of the Divine Majesty, the least of
“ whicl should have more weight with us, than
“ the witings of the wisest and most learned men
“ in theworld /
* Consilium De Studio Thcologiac,
 CHARGE,
TO

the professor,
AND

STUDENTS OP DIVINITY.

BY

PHILIP MILLEDOLER. I) D.

11
 CHARGE, <§c.
# »

tteverend and dear Brother,

4 The engagements you have formed this day,
are peculiarly solemn and affecting. The chai ge
devolving on the Pastor of a congregation, inentei-
ing upon the duties of his office, is deeply interest¬
ing, but not so interesting as yours. You are not
called by a particular branch of our church to mi¬
nister in holy things, but by her highest ecclesiasti¬
cal judicatory, to superintend the education of her
sons. Under the direction, we trust, of the great
Head of the Church, you have been invited to train
up for her service, bands of intelligent, intrepid, and
faithful champions of the cross. The characters
you are to form for active service, are the flower of
our youth; young men from whose lips, at some
y future, and not far distant period, multitudes of souls
may receive instruction; who may be destined to
fill the chairs of teachers and professors in our
schools, and on whose fidelity, under God, may de¬
pend the future peace and prosperity of the church,
and the salvation of thousands, perhaps millions, yet
unborn*

Suffer me, under these circumstances, to give a

brief exhibition of the views of the general as¬
sembly in founding this institution, and to point out
some duties incumbent on you, in the accomplish¬
ment of those views. The assembly, in founding
 ( 108 )
this school, are desirous of securing* and perpetu¬
ating to the church, a learned, orthodox, pious,
and evangelical Ministry.

We want a learned Ministry.

W hatever mischief has been done to the world

by phdosophy, falsely so called, we are persuaded
that true learning has never injured the church, and
never will. Such is the harmony subsisting be¬
tween the works and word of God, that& dis¬
coveries in the former will never cease to promote
our regard for the latter. It has been said, that ig¬
norance is the mother of devotion ; that aphorism
we utterly and indignantly reject. To instruct others,
and especially in divine things, men must first be in¬
structed themselves. On this principle God himself
has acted from the beginning of the world to the
present day. In former ages, he himself spake di¬
rectly to the prophets. The messages they deliver¬
ed were formed under the immediate influence of
his grace, and the inspiration of his Spirit. “ For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man; but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost*.”

At the entrance of our Saviour upon his Minis¬

try, he chose twelve disciples. These were prepared
by himself for their work, and that too especially

* .
2 Pet 1. 21.
 ( 100 )
,n ^ie ^rst instance by a regular course of instruc¬
tion and discipline. It was after that course of in-
fctiuction, and not before, that they were sent out to
evangelize the world. Of completing the designs of
God toward our race, in their day, these servants of
Christ had no expectation. Their number was
small, their lives precarious, the opposition they
met with, powerful and constant; and their influ¬
ence confined to regions which, however extensive
m themselves, were yet small when compared to the
whole world. They were therefore solicitous to
provide for the future wants of the church, and
took immediate steps for transmitting their power
and authority to others. Hence that charge of
Pcmt to Timothy*: “ And the things that thou
hast heard of me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also.” Thus early provision
was made for the supply of the church with an
able and faithful ministry. Beside the instruc¬
tion they had received from their Lord, the Apos¬
tles and their immediate successors were quali¬
fied in a miraculous manner for their work._They
were endowed with the gift of tongues. De¬
vils lied at their rebuke; diseases, the most inve¬
terate, were healed by a word or by a touch. They
had also the power of discerning spirits f; a power
which gave them no small advantage over ordina¬
ry teachers. All these gifts, from their cxtraordi-

* 2 Tim. 2. 2. •T 1 Cor. 12. 10.

 ( no >
nary nature, and the well known disposition of
mankind, were calculated to excite curiosity, to
attract attention, to draw men within the sphere of
the Gospel, and to carry home, by divine grace, ir¬
resistible conviction to their understandings and
hearts. They enjoyed another advantage; they
were under the influence of the Spirit of God,
to a degree, of which now, alas! owing to our most
awful supineness, we can hardly form a conception.
This influence of the Spirit gave dignity to their
manners, intrepidity to their zeal, and a general
character to their ministry, which commanded the
admiration of both friends and foes. With such
advantages, it is not to be wondered at, that they
towered with eagles’ flight above the philosophers of
their day, and outstripped in their progress all the
wisdom of the sages, and all the eloquence of the
schools. But the gift of tongues, with other mira¬
culous endowments of the Holy Spirit, began gra¬
dually to disappear with the extension of the Gos¬
pel. This circumstance had a considerable in¬
fluence in changing the face of the church, and
especially in regard to the education of her minis¬
ters. That the scriptures might be read in the lan-
o-uao-es in which they were originally penned, or
translated into the tongues of foreign nations ; that
young Gentile converts might become mighty in the
scriptures; and that the sons of the church might
be qualified to contend for the faith once delivered
to the saints, against learned and subtle adversaries
 ( ni )
without, as well as against sectaries in her
own bosom, it was soon perceived that a learn¬
ed, as well as pious, ministry, was indispensa¬
bly necessary. The most distinguished of the pri¬
mitive fathers were advocates for a learned ministry.
They well knew that learning without piety might
be abused to the worst of purposes; but they were
unwilling to allow that the abuse of what is good
in itself, can ever detract from its intrinsic value.
In this view of the subject, they were followed by
the Reformers ; and it is a principle which has been
acted upon, and contended for, from that day
to the present, by the best and purest churches in
Christendom. In the careful instruction, then, of
our Youth, dear Sir, for the work of the Gospel
Ministry, you will neither stand upon new or un¬
tenable ground. And, assured as you may be, that
you are doing the will of Christ, you may safely em¬
ploy in it all the stores of your learning; all the re¬
sources of your genius, and all the powers of your
soul. But whilst there can be no doubt, either of the
lawfulness or expediency of such a work, it is not
to be concealed, that it is a task of great labour and
difficulty. To say nothing of that diversity of dis¬
position, taste, and intellect, in students themselves,
which renders the art of teaching, as well as govern¬
ment, so exceedingly intricate; waving also at pre¬
sent all observations on methods of instruction, I will
venture to say, that the work itself is one of the
most arduous in the world. The scriptures are a
mine of inexhaustible wealth, but to be enriched
 ( 112 )
with their treasures will require close and constant
application. To exhibit divine truth in a lucid
and systematic manner; to show the unity of Scrip¬
ture in the connexion and dependence of its
parts; to make of our young1 men sound Bi¬
blical critics, and able casuists; to furnish them
with gospel armour of proof, offensive and defen¬
sive ; to give them an extensive acquaintance with
Church history and government; but especially so
to indoctrinate, and, if I may use the expression,
leaven them with heavenly truth, that they may
ever after hold, and defend it for themselves, as
well as communicate it to others; is a work indeed
of no small magnitude. In this work you will
soon, we hope, be aided by faithful colleagues; but
a large and important part of it will still rest, under
God, upon yourself. To cultivate such a field as this,
dear sir, will be sufficient to call forth the exertions
of the most active and enterprising mind; it will
therefore behoove you, notwithstanding all your
present acquirements, not only to cherish the attain¬
ments you have already made, but also further to
enrich your mind with the spoils of science, and to
extend your inquiries into almost every department
of literature, sacred and profane.

Another charge devolving upon you with pecu¬

liar weight, dear Brother, is the faithful maintenance
of that system of doctrines handed down to us by
our fathers, and for which in numerous instances
they have sacrificed “ their fortunes, their liberties.
 ( 113 )
and their lives.’* Strongly attached to the doctrines
of the reformation contained in her standards, jea¬
lous of innovation, and anxious to transmit the
truth as it is in Jesus inviolate to posterity, the
Presbyterian church will expect, and permit me to
add, Sir, after the signal mark of her confidence
reposed in you, will have a right to expect, that her
doctrines, and especially her distinguishing doc¬
trines, will be taught in this school without adding
to, or taking aught from them in any wise, or under
any pretext whatsoever. It is also expected that
these doctrines will be explained in terms used
by her best writers from almost time immemo¬
rial, and which from long use have become fa¬
miliar to, and are best understood by, her mem¬
bers. By observing this plan, there will be an agree¬
ment of theological terms used in the instruction
of our youth, with those used in our standard books,
as well as an agreement of terms used by our fu¬
ture licentiates and ministers, with those to which
our congregations are accustomed. An object this,
of no small importance to the future harmony of our
churches. The Confession of Faith of the Presby¬
terian Church, and form of government connected
with it, will be an important book in this seminary.
Containing a form of sound words drawn from the
lively oracles of God, and tested by experience,
it has long served, and will hereafter serve, as a
bond of union to the churches. As every minis¬
ter in our connexion is required to subscribe this
Confession, they should be well acquainted with its
15
 ( 114 )
contents. When adopted, it cannot be renounced
without renouncing' our communion; nor invaded,
without a species of sacrilege. If important doctri¬
nal errors are ever introduced into our churches,
they will be introduced by a gradual departure
from our standards. These should be guarded,
therefore, with inviolable care. Is any man dissa¬
tisfied with them, he is not bound to receive them;
and if he does receive them, he is by that very act
sacredly bound to cherish and maintain them. To
surrender truths deemed of minor importance is on¬
ly to prepare the way for other demands, and great¬
er sacrifices; and if first attempts are not repelled,
they will soon be followed by others, till all is gone
that is worth contending for. To give our young
men an early acquaintance with these standards,
is therefore an object of primary importance;
and should they be required, during their theo¬
logical course, to commit to memory the great¬
er part, if not the whole, of our confession and book
of discipline, it would be attended with incalcula¬
ble advantage. It would not only give them a de¬
cided superiority over others in ecclesiastical coun¬
cils, but would also tend to guard them against er¬
ror, as well as to secure their attachment to the truth.
Peculiarly set for the defence of the Gospel, it will
be expected of you, dear brother, that you will stand
as a bulwark for truth against the encroachments
of error. In this respect also, the assembly have
deposited in your hands a most sacred trust; and one
we are persuaded, that will never be abused. With
 ( US )
pleasure we anticipate the period when the youth
of our seminary will not only exhibit sound princi¬
ples themselves, but will also be disposed, and pre¬
pared to hand them down inviolate to others.

And as it is desirable that we should have a

leamed and orthodox, so we also need a pious and
evangelical, ministry. Whatever may be the talents
of ministers, they are like, without personal piety,
to be of no lasting advantage to the church; nay,
such characters have often indicted upon it deep,
and almost incurable wounds. That they are ut¬
terly unfit for the sacred office, is manifest. How
shall they feed the flock of Christ purchased with
his blood, who have no interest in that purchase ?
How shall they sympathize in the sufferings of
God’s people, who have no spiritual feeling?
Or how shall they speak a word in season to
weary and tempted souls, who themselves never
felt, and therefore never mourned, under the
awful pressure of their sins ? Their godly hear¬
ers can be satisfied with them no longer than they
shall have address enough to conceal their real
characters, and they not unfrequently become
the scorn even of the careless and impenitent.
We hope the time is far distant, when our
churches will be satisfied with mere exhibitions
of learning, or eloquence, or with the substitution
of dry moral lectures for the preaching of the cross.
The apostle Paul was determined to know nothing
among his hearers but Jesus Christ,and him crucified.
 ( 116 )
—He was convinced that nothing under heaven
could exhibit the divine character in a clearer
light, and that nothing had equal influence on the
human mind, to control, reform, and changed into
the image of God. He had fairly made the expe-
i iment, and hath taught us, both by precept and ex¬
ample, that the true ministry ot reconciliation must
be pious and evangelical. In preparing such a
Ministry for the church, it is desirable that such,
and such only, should be sent forward to the school
as are hopefully pious. What remains to the pro¬
fessors of the institution, is continually to insist upon
the necessity of it, to cultivate it where it exists,
by precept and example; to honour it with marked
respect, and in every instance in which they shall
be satisfied ol the want ot it in any pupil, to take
effectual steps to prevent his entrance upon an office,
loi which in such case he is so evidently disquali¬
fied.

Thus, reverend and dear brother, I have endea¬

voured to mark out your glorious work, and have
ventured a few thoughts on the best means of its
accomplishment. We want a learned, orthodox,
pious, and evangelical ministry. To such, and
such only, can we confidently and comfortably com¬
mit the affairs of the church; and to leave another
ministry in it, if we ourselves are faithful, would plant
ihorns in our dying pillows. As no greater curse
can fall upon a people than to commit its spiritual
interests into the hands of weak and unskilful, but
 ( H7 )
especially of unprincipled, men; so, on the other
hand, we are persuaded that an able and faithful mi¬
nistry, is one of the most distinguished blessings to
the world. Its influence in the church must be ob¬
vious to all; and its benign influence on our schools,
as well as on the general good order and happiness
of society, will be denied only by the thoughtless,
or the profligate. This seminary then, even in its
infant state, is an object of public interest; an ob¬
ject not only calculated to call forth the good wish¬
es of our own church, but of the church at large,
aup even of the nation. Though its origin be
small, the voice of its sons, we trust, will one day
be heard to advantage from one extreme of these
United States to the other; nay, the time may not
be far distant, when they will vie with their trans¬
atlantic brethren, in carrying the lamp of eternal
truth, and planting the standard of the cross, on
the remotest shores of heathen lands. The bless¬
ings that flow from such a ministry, are not bless¬
ings of a day, of a year, or even of an age.—*
These men will in due time transmit their know¬
ledge and authority to others, and these again to
their successors, to the final conflagration of the
globe. In this view of the subject, Reverend Sir,
you will feel a weight of responsibility upon you
sufficient to bow the shoulders of an angel. The
infant state of the institution will add to that weight.
The General Assembly have stamped it with grand
and impressive features, but they have only drawn
the great outlines of its character. Much yet remains
 C 118 )
to be done. The perfection of their plan will be the
result of time and experience, and will greatly de¬
pend on the wisdom and diligence of their professors.
In all this work, dear brother, you will have the eyes
of God, of angels, and of men, upon you; but you
enter upon it with great encouragement. You
may promise yourself the good wishes and pray¬
ers of the whole church of God. You may also
promise yourself the cordial co-operation of your
brethren in the Gord. Xn their personal friendship,
as well as interest in the work, you will find pledg¬
es of future consolation and support. But above
all, you may promise yourself, if faithful, the con¬
stant blessing of the great Head of the church:
there lies your strength, your wisdom, your every
qualification for the work. The promise, « Lo, I
am with you always,” has never been forgotten by
him, and never will. I have only to add a wish
that when the book shall be opened that records
the transactions of this day, that you may have
cause to rejoice in them for ever.

Permit jne, also, young gentlemen, on this solemn

occasion, to address myself to you. You will
have the honour of being the first whose names are
enrolled in the register of this Seminary. They
will stand, we hope, at the head of a host of worthies,
whose future labours shall bless the church of God,
and do honour to their country. As you are
first in order of time, so we pray, that you may
be numbered with the first, in devotion to God, and
 ( 119 )
usefulness to mankind. The studies in which you
will be engaged, are not only delightful, to the
pious mind, but are also calculated to enlarge
your souls; to ennoble and transform them into
the very image of God. The privilege you will
enjoy, of consecrating your time to the study of the
scriptures, and your persons to the service of Christ,
is too great for expression. You are now, young
gentlemen, to lay the foundation of your future cha¬
racter and usefulness in life; and, in some measure
at least, as connected with it, of your future and
eternal felicity. Permit me then to urge, with all
possible earnestness, a diligent improvement of time
and opportunities afforded you in the good provi¬
dence of God. Your stay in this seminary may
seem long in prospect, but it is really short; short
in itself, and especially so, when compared with
the work you have to do. Observe the plan of edu¬
cation marked out by the Assembly, and you will
see at once, that the most diligent application will
barely suffice, to give you, not to say a perfect, but
even a competent knowledge of the subjects it em¬
braces.

If any suppose that occasional application, or su¬

perficial reading, will constitute an eminent divine,
they are exceedingly mistaken. In searching after,
illustrating, or defending truth, the whole circle of
the sciences may be pressed into the service of
Christ. The study of the scriptures, especially in
their original languages, is a work of time, as well
 ( 120 )
as of deep research. To obtain an accurate know¬
ledge of scripture types, prophecies, and doctrines;
to be acquainted with the sophistry of enemies, and
qualified to expose it; to be well informed in church
history and government; and to acquire facility in
collecting, judgment in arranging, and gracefulness
in the delivery of your thoughts, will all require time
and labour.

But whilst I thus urge preparation for the altar

in the acquirement of useful knowledge, let me
also insist, particularly insist, on the cultivation of
personal piety. As you are now to lay the foun¬
dation of solid learning, and literary eminence, so
also of good character. Many eyes will be upon
you, and more expected than from other young men
of the same age, engaged in other pursuits. To the
youth of this venerable seat of learning and the arts,
you are especially called, to set examples of piety
worthy of imitation. Not to speak of actions gross¬
ly derogatory to your Christian character, and the
stain of which might follow you to your graves; re¬
member, that you have in great measure passed
that period of life, in which folly is extenuated by
juvenile indiscretion. A short time will place you,
God willing, upon the theatre of the world, under
the august character of Ambassadors of Christ.
Bear this in constant remembrance; and if you ever
hope to fill that station with dignity to yourselves,
Usefulness to others, and glory to God, learn now to
live by faith in the Son of God; govern your pas-
 ( 121 )
sions, deny yourselves, and consecrate your whole
souls to the service of the Redeemer, Whatsoever
things are true, just, lovely, and of good report,
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things. Let the world take know¬
ledge of you, that you have been with Jesus; let
it appear evident to all that you have entered
upon your work with due reflection, and from
proper motives, and you will in no wise lose your
reward.

With piety toward God, my young friends, be

careful to cultivate respect for your instructors.
It is the sign of an ingenuous mind, and a debt of
gratitude you owe them. They will deserve well
at your hands. The hero of Macedon revered his
father much, but he revered his instructor more. He
viewed him as a second father; as one who had
formed his mind ; and acknowledged a debt of gra¬
titude he never could repay. Christian youth, in
regard to their Christian teachers, must not be out-
done by the gratitude of a heathen.

Beloved pupils, who have commenced with me

your theological course—I now resign you with
pleasure into other hands. Divided between paro¬
chial duties, and the care I owed you, I have found
the task of instruction difficult, and sometimes op¬
pressive; jour future teacher, unincumbered by
other cares, can, and will cheerfully, devote his whole
16
time to your improvement. I am happy to bear
this public testimony to your former diligence and
good conduct, and trust you will secure, by your
future deportment, the approbation of your teachers,
of the public, of your conscience, and your God.